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HERSELF 


BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR 


HIMSELF 

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^HERSELF  / 

TALKS  WITH   WOMEN   CONCERNING 
THEMSELVES 


BY 

E.  B.  LOWRY,  M.D. 

Author  of 
"Confidences,"  "Truths."   etc. 


CHICAGO 

FORBES  &  COMPANY 


Made  In  U.  S.  A. 


Copyright,    1911»    By 
Forbes  and  Company 


PREFACE 

A  RECENT  number  of  the  Journal  of  the  Ameri- 
can Medical  Association  contained  this  para- 
graph : 

*'  A  correspondent  asks  for  a  good  book  de- 
scribing the  female  generative  organs  anatom- 
ically, physiologically  and  pathologically,  treating 
also  of  childbirth,  written  in  language  easily 
understood  by  a  layman.  He  desires  to  give 
copies  to  some  of  his  young  women  patients. 
The  editor  regrets  there  is  no  satisfactory  book 
on  the  subject  although  there  is  great  need  for 
one." 

It  is  a  lamentable  fact  that  the  majority  of 
women  and  girls  are  ignorant  of  the  structure  of 
their  most  important  organs.  In  the  majority  of 
schools  and  colleges  where  physiology  is  taught, 
absolutely  nothing  is  mentioned  about  the  repro- 
ductive organs.     As  far  as  books  or  instruction 

1  concerned,  the  girl  is  ignorant  of  their  very 
Aistencc.     If  she  knew  something  of  the  struc- 

5 


PREFACE 

ture  of  such  Important  organs  and  the  harmful 
results  of  many  practices  or  acts  of  carelessness 
affecting  them,  would  she  not  be  better  prepared 
to  take  the  proper  care  of  herself  and  more  liable 
to  develop  into  a  strong,  healthy  woman? 

If  a  girl  In  the  business  world  is  intrusted  with 
a  delicate  piece  of  machinery  she  is  taught  the 
structure,  use  and  care  of  it.  Why  is  it  not  just 
as  necessary  that  the  girl,  who  is  intrusted  with  the 
care  of  delicate  organisms  upon  whose  condition 
depends  the  health  of  the  future  generation,  be 
instructed  regarding  the  care  of  these  organs  ?  In- 
stead, she  is  left  in  absolute  ignorance  and  then 
blamed  if  she  mars  them. 

Every  woman  should  have  some  knowledge  of 
the  structure  and  care  of  her  body,  especially  of 
those  parts  which  are  concerned  so  intimately  ii> 
the  welfare  of  the  future  generation.  Every 
woman,  too,  should  receive  some  Instruction  re- 
garding the  care  of  young  children  and  the  proper 
management  of  the  home.  A  woman  who  at- 
tempts to  care  for  herself  and  her  children  with- 
out proper  knowledge  of  these  subjects  is  like  a 
man  who  tries  to  run  his  business  blindfolded. 

That  thinking  women  are  awakening  to  the  fact 

6 


PREFACE 

that  they  hare  been  suffering  unnecessarily  and  arc 
realizing  the  necessity  for  more  knowledge  con- 
cerning the  hygiene  and  physiology  of  their  own 
bodies  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  nearly  every  chap- 
ter in  this  book  has  been  written  in  answer  to 
questions  asked  by  women  readers  of  the  author's 
magazine  articles.  With  the  hope  that  the  plain 
facts  herein  set  forth  will  aid  some  women  to  have 
healthier  and  happier  lives  and  healthier  and  hap- 
pier babies  this  series  of  talks  has  been  written. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 
I 


n 
III 

IV 

V 

VI 

VII 

VIII 

IX 

X 

XI 

XII 

XIII 

XIV 

XV 

XVI 

XVII 

XVIII 

XIX 

XX 

XXI 

xxir 


PAGE 

Anatomy  and  Physiology  of  the  Female  Or- 
gans     II 

Menstruation  —  Puberty  —  Menopause  ...  23 

Diseases  of  the  Female  Organs 33 

Gjnstipation  —  Hemorrhoids 47 

The  Black  Plagues SS 

Fake  Medical  Advice  for  Women 65 

The  Marriage  Relation 71 

Embryology 81 

Abortions 89 

Maternal  Impressions  —  Heredity      ....  97 

Childless  Homes  and  Real  Homes     ....  103 

Prevention  of  Pregnancy 109 

Some  of  the  Causes  of  Divorce 115 

The  Need  of  Early  Instruction  of  Girls  .     .  121 

Why  Girls  Go  Astray 131 

Self-Abuse I37 

Effects  of  Immoral  Life I49 

Furtations  \vv  their  Results i57 

White  Slavery 163 

The  Need  of  Early  Instruction  of  Boys    .     .171 

Why  Boys  Go  Astray I77 

How  Shall  the  Child  be  Told 183 

9 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTKK  fACE 

XXIII  Women  In  Business 189 

XXIV  Nervousness  —  A  Lack  of  Control      ....  195 
XXV    A  Woman  Is  As  Young  As  She  Wants  To  Be  203 


10 


HERSELF 


CHAPTER  I 

ANATOMY     AND     PHYSIOLOGY     OF     THE     FEMALE 

ORGANS 

Before  we  can  understand  the  care  of  any- 
thing we  must  have  some  knowledge  of  its 
structure;  so  I  think  it  well,  in  this  our  first  talk, 
that  we  should  learn  something  of  the  structure 
of  the  /emale  generative  organs.  As  I  have  told 
some  of  you  in  former  talks,  the  womb  is  designed 
as  a  nest  for  the  babe  during  Its  process  of  de- 
velopment from  the  egg  or  ovule.  It  lies  in  the 
center  of  the  pelvis,  or  lower  part  of  the  body 
cavity,  In  front  of  the  rectum  and  behind  and 
above  the  bladder.  It  is  pear-shaped,  with  the 
small  end  downward,  and  is  about  three  inches 
long,  two  Inches  wide  and  one  inch  thick.  It  con- 
sists of  layers  of  muscles  enclosing  a  cavity  which, 

II 


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12 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY 

owing  to  the  thickness  of  the  walls,  is  compara- 
tively small.  This  cavity  is  triangular  in  shape 
and  has  three  openings, —  one  at  the  lower  end  or 
mouth  of  the  womb  into  the  vagina  and  one  at 
each  side,  near  the  top,  into  the  fallopian  tubes. 
The  womb,  or  uterus  as  it  sometimes  is  called,  is 
not  firmly  attached  nor  adherent  to  any  of  the 
bony  parts.  It  is  suspended  in  the  pelvic  cavity 
and  kept  in  place  by  muscles  and  ligaments.  As 
the  muscles  and  ligaments  are  elastic,  the  womb 
slightly  changes  its  position  with  different  move- 
ments of  the  body.  Normally,  it  is  inclined  for- 
ward, resting  on  the  bladder;  so  you  sec,  a  full 
bladder  will  push  it  backward,  while  a  full  rectum 
and  intestines  tend  to  push  it  forward  and  down- 
ward. 

The  lower  end  or  mouth  of  the  womb  opens 
into  the  vagina,  a  distensible  and  curved  muscular 
tube,  which  helps  to  support  the  womb  and  also 
connects  it  with  the  external  parts.  The  vagina  is 
about  three  and  a  half  inches  long.  It  often  is 
called  the  birth  canal  because  the  baby  must  pass 
through  it  on  its  way  from  the  womb  to  the  ex- 
ternal world. 

The  two  upper  openings  of  the  womb  lead  into 

13 


HERSELF 

the  fallopian  tubes  or  oviducts,  which  arc  two 
small  muscular  tubes  leading  from  the  ovaries  to 
the  womb.  Each  one  is  about  four  inches  long, 
but  the  opening  through  the  center  in  its  largest 
portion  is  only  about  as  large  as  a  broom  straw, 
while  near  the  womb  it  narrows  down  until  it  will 
admit  only  a  fine  bristle.  When  the  ovum  or  seed 
leaves  the  ovary  it  must  pass  through  one  of  these 
tubes  to  reach  the  womb,  so  you  see  how  necessary 
it  is  that  they  be  kept  in  good  condition. 

From  the  end  of  each  tube,  but  not  directly 
connected  with  it,  is  suspended  a  small  almond- 
shaped  body  called  the  ovary.  Each  ovary  is 
similar  in  shape  and  size  to  an  almond,  measuring 
about  one  and  a  half  inches  in  length,  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  in  width  and  one-half  an  inch 
in  thickness.  The  function  or  work  of  the  ovaries 
is  to  produce,  develop  and  mature  the  ova  (eggs)  ' 
and  to  discharge  them  when  fully  formed  so  they 
may  enter  the  tubes  and  so  find  their  way  to  the 
womb.  In  every  ovary  there  arc  several  hundred 
little  ovules  or  eggs  in  various  stages  of  develop- 
ment. At  IrrcguUr  Intervals  one  of  these  ovules 
ripens  and  leaves  the  ovary.  It  passes  along  the 
fallopian  tube  to  the  womb.     Here  it  remains  if 

14 


1.  Bladder 

2.  Urethra 

3.  Uterus 

4.  Vagina 


5.  Rectum 

6.  Peritoneum 

7.  Perineum 


VERTICAL  SECTION  OF  PELVIS 


15 


HERSELF 

it  is  impregnated  or  fertilized,  and  develops  Into 
the  babe.  If  not  impregnated,  it  passes  off  with 
the  menstrual  flow.  Every  twenty-eight  days 
large  quantities  of  blood  are  sent  to  the  womb, 
producing  a  natural  congestion.  The  pressure 
of  this  extra  blood  in  the  tiny  capillaries  of  the 
womb  stretches  and  weakens  their  walls.  This  al- 
lows the  blood,  which  is  being  sent  to  the  womb 
to  provide  nourishment  for  the  ovum  if  it  be  im- 
pregnated, to  pass  into  the  cavity  of  the  womb, 
then  out  through  the  mouth  into  the  vagina,  thence 
to  the  external  parts.  This  flow  is  called  the 
menstrual  flow.  When  the  flow  ceases  the  mucosa 
or  lining  assumes  its  former  state.  This  process 
is  repeated  every  m^nth. 

Lining  the  cavity  of  the  abdomen  and  also 
folded  over  the  womb,  ovaries,  tubes  and  other 
organs  is  a  thin  membrane  called  the  peritoneum. 
An  inflammation  of  this  lining  is  called  peritoni- 
tis. 

All  these  organs  I  have  mentioned  are  situated 
inside  the  body  out  of  sight,  but  there  are  other 
organs  that  are  external.  You  have  noticed  two 
longitudinal  folds  of  skin  extending  from  the 
anus,   or  external  opening  of  the  rectum,  to  the 

i6 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY 

rounded  eminence  in  front.  Their  outer  surface 
is  covered  with  hair  and  their  inner  surface  with 
glands  that  secrete  a  lubricating  material.  These 
folds  are  called  the  labia  majora.  Within  the 
labia  majora  are  two  smaller  folds  called  the  labia 
minora.  These  folds  meet  at  their  anterior 
(front)  end.  At  the  meeting  point  you  will 
notice  a  very  small  structure  which  is  called  the 
clitoris.  This  clitoris  is  very  similar  in  structure 
to  the  penis  of  the  male,  having  a  tiny  prepuce 
or  foreskin  which  folds  over  to  protect  the  sensi- 
tive end.  Sometimes  the  foreskin  is  bound  down 
too  tightly,  so  that  instead  of  being  a  protection 
to  the  parts,  it  becomes  a  source  of  irritation. 
Then  we  say  the  clitoris  is  hooded  and  it  is  neces- 
sary to  loosen  or  cut  this  fold  of  skin.  The  opera- 
tion is  similar  to  that  of  circumcision  in  the  male. 

Just  back  of  the  clitoris,  within  the  folds  of  the 
labia,  is  situated  the  meatus  urinarius,  or  opening 
leading  to  the  bladder.  This  aperture  does  not 
open  directly  into  the  bladder  but  is  connected  to 
it  by  a  tube,  about  an  inch  and  a  half  long,  called 
the  urethra. 

The  orifice  or  external  opening  of  the  vagina 
is  situated  just  back  of  the  meatus  urinarius,  also 

17 


HERSELF 

within  the  folds  of  the  labia.  In  the  virgin  it  is 
partly  closed  by  a  membranous  fold  called  the 
hymen  or  maidenhead.  The  shape  and  size  of 
the  hymen  varies  greatly  in  different  individuals, 
sometimes  being  entirely  absent.  After  marriage 
it  usually  persists  as  notched  folds.  The  presence 
of  an  intact  hymen  is  not  necessarily  a  sign  of 
virginity,  nor  does  its  absence  necessarily  indicate 
defloration.  Its  congenital  absence  or  absence  at 
the  time  of  birth  is  known.  It  sometimes  is  in- 
jured, or  may  be  destroyed  by  an  accident,  as  by 
falling  astride  of  an  object;  again  violent  exercise 
may  rupture  It  (horseback  riding).  Surgical 
operations  or  vaginal  examinations,  roughly  con- 
ducted, not  infrequently  cause  rupture.  Then, 
too,  authentic  cases  are  on  record  in  which  prosti- 
tutes have  had  perfectly  preserved  hymens.  It  is 
yj  well  known  that  the  use  of  vaginal  astringents  may 
tone  up  and  narrow  the  vagina  and  even  restore 
the  hymen  to  a  great  degree. 

The  surface  between  the  vaginal  orifice  and  the 
anus  is  called  the  perineum  (Do  not  confuse 
this  with  the  peritoneum,  for  they  are  entirely 
different).  It  is  this  perineum  that  sometimes  be- 
comes torn  during  childbirth.     The  vaginal  open- 

l8 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY 

ing  does  not  always  stretch  sufficiently  to  allow 
the  passage  of  the  child's  head  and  the  great 
pressure  being  exerted  on  the  child  by  the  uterine 
and  abdominal  muscles  pushes  it  through,  causing 
the  tear.  (You  will  understand  this  better  when 
I  explain  about  the  development  and  birth  of  the 
child.)  If  this  tear  is  repaired  immediately  no 
inconvenience  usually  results  but  if  it  is  neglected 
it  may  produce  a  series  of  complications,  some  of 
which  are  falling  of  the  womb,  inflammation  and 
even  sterility. 

Not  directly  connected  with  any  of  the  other 
organs  but  still  associated  with  them  are  the 
breasts.  They  vary  in  size  at  different  periods 
of  life,  being  usually  of  small  size  when  the  girl 
is  young  but  increasing  in  size  as  the  generative 
organs  develop.  The  breasts  consist  of  fatty 
tissue  surrounding  milk  glands  and  ducts.  Dur- 
ing pregnancy  they  increase  in  size  and  become 
filled  with  milk.  After  the  menopause  (change 
of  life)  they  ordinarily  shrink  in  size.  The  an- 
cient Greek  statues,  such  as  the  Venus  de  Medici, 
long  regarded  as  a  type  of  perfect  beauty,  the 
Venus  of  Capua,  regarded  as  the  bust  of  a  perfect 
form,  show  that  the  Grecian  ideal  of  the  feminine 

19 


HERSELF 

form  had  small  busts.  The  modern  idea  seems 
to  have  wandered  far  from  the  Grecian  ideal  and 
many  women  devote  much  time  and  money  trying 
to  develop  their  busts.  Perhaps  sometime  wc 
will  give  up  trying  to  be  so  artificial  and  conform 
to  Nature's  ideal. 

Nature  has  constructed  the  internal  female 
organs  so  wisely  that  we  seldom  need  give  them 
much  thought.  But  the  external  organs  do  need 
our  attention  every  day.  I  told  you  that  the  labia 
secreted  a  lubricating  material  which  kept  the 
parts  moist,  but  this  secretion  must  not  be  allowed 
to  accumulate.  The  scalp  secretes  an  oil  that  is 
necessary  to  the  health  of  the  hair  but  if  this  and 
the  perspiration  are  allowed  to  accumulate  the  hair 
has  an  offensive  odor.  So  it  is  with  the  female 
organs,  the  parts  must  be  bathed  carefully  every 
day.  I  have  been  surprised  in  the  past  to  find 
how  many  intelligent  women  neglect  these  parts. 
Women  come  for  an  examination,  their  clothing  is 
scrupulously  clean,  their  bodies  show  recent  care 
but  in  the  folds  of  the  labia,  especially  near  the 
clitoris,  I  find  an  accumulation  of  a  chccsy-likc 
material  which  has  an  odor  very  offensive  to  any 

20 


ANATOMY  AND  PHYSIOLOGY 

truly  refined  woman.  Sometimes  in  public  gath- 
erings, I  have  been  seated  near  a  woman  with  this 
same  offensive  odor  very  noticeable,  and  I  have 
longed  to  tell  her  how  to  avoid  it,  for  I  am  sure 
others  must  notice  the  same  odor.  But  even  from 
a  physician,  in  the  privacy  of  the  office,  women 
resent  any  suggestion  that  they  are  not  thorough 
in  matters  of  cleanliness.  Daily  cleansing  of  these 
parts  is  a  necessity.  At  least  once  a  day  these 
parts  should  be  sponged  carefully.  The  labia 
should  be  separated  and  every  fold  thoroughly 
cleansed.  Occasional  vaginal  douches  also  are 
necessary,  for  the  various  secretions  often  are  re- 
tained in  the  folds  of  the  vagina  and  cause  irrita- 
tion. But  in  taking  a  douche  one  always  should 
remember  to  have  the  water  warm.  Cold  water 
may  produce  congestion.  The  virtue  of  douches 
(except  when  taken  for  medicinal  purposes)  lies 
in  their  cleansing  properties  and  warm  water 
cleanses  even  better  than  cold.  Many  women 
produce  grave  disorders  by  the  use  of  cold  douches 
under  the  mistaken  notion  that  they  are  of  greater 
value  than  hot  ones.  A  douche  should  be  taken 
at  the  close  of  the  menstrual  period  especially. 

21 


HERSELF 

These  female  organs  should  not  be  the  source 
of  worry  but  they  do  require  as  much  or  even  more 
attention  to  cleanliness  than  we  give  to  our  mouths 
or  other  parts  of  the  body. 


22 


CHAPTER  II 

MENSTRUATION PUBERTY MENOPAUSE 

The  subject  of  menstruation  seems  to  be  trou- 
bling several  of  you.  I  am  sorry  that  you  did  not 
all  have  the  advantage  of  having  this  explained  at 
an  early  age.  You  might  have  been  saved  a  great 
deal  of  suffering  and  causeless  worry. 

By  menstruation,  or  "  the  monthlies "  as  it 
sometimes  is  called,  is  meant  the  monthly  hem- 
orrhage that  takes  place  in  the  uterus  or  womb 
during  the  child-bearing  period  of  the  normal 
woman  except  during  pregnancy  and  lactation, 
when  it  near  y  always  is  suspended.  The  child- 
bearing  period  commences  at  the  age  of  puberty 
and  ends  with  the  menopause  (change  of  life). 

Puberty  is  the  period  of  maturing  of  the  sexual 
organs.  It  occurs  about  the  age  of  twelve,  al- 
though there  mav  be  considerable  variation  as  to 
diis-  It  extends  over  a  period  of  several  years. 
As  a  rule,  girls  mature  earlier  in  warm  climates 

23 


HERSELF 

than  in  cold  and  in  cities  than  in  country  districts. 
The  signs  of  the  approach  of  this  period  arc  the 
growth  of  hair  on  the  pubes  and  other  parts  of 
the  body,  the  enlargement  of  the  breasts,  a  gen- 
eral rounding  and  increased  grace  of  the  body, 
the  development  of  the  pelvis  so  that  the  hips  be- 
come more  prominent,  and  a  change  in  the  mental 
qualities  of  the  child,  the  girl  naturally  becoming 
more  retiring.  The  menstrual  function  usually  is 
not  established  at  once,  there  being  premonitory 
symptoms  of  a  vague  nature.  There  may  be,  at 
first,  only  a  slight  discharge  of  mucus  tinged  with 
blood,  later  the  normal  menstrual  flow  will  be 
established. 

During  this  period  of  puberty  there  arc  great 
changes  taking  place  in  the  girl's  internal  organs. 
This  change  and  development  requires  consider- 
able of  the  girl's  strength  and  natur  illy  influences 
her  nervous  system.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  a 
girl  at  this  period  of  her  life  should  not  be  sub- 
jected to  any  great  exertion,  either  physical  or 
mental.  She  should  have  plenty  of  light,  health- 
ful exercise  in  the  open  air,  but  should  not  indulge 
in  any  very  violent  exercise.  A  little  care  at  this 
time  often  will  save  her  years  of  suffering.     As 

24 


MENSTRUATION 

the  nervous  system  is  greatly  affected  at  this 
period  there  should  be  no  great  mental  strain.  In 
fact,  if  the  girl  shows  many  nervous  symptoms, 
it  may  be  wise  to  take  her  out  of  school  for  a  year 
so  that  her  strength  may  be  used  as  Nature  re- 
quires it.  As  a  rule,  too  much  work  is  required 
in  school  at  this  age.  The  school  duties  should 
be  lessened  and  the  girl  allowed  to  rest  a  day  or 
two  during  her  menstrual  period.  The  girl  at 
this  age  should  not  attempt  to  accomplish  as  much 
work  or  study  as  the  boy  does.  Her  time  at  this 
period  might  better  be  occupied  in  learning  the 
rudiments  of  housekeeping  and  home-making. 
Then,  when  her  body  has  become  developed,  her 
strength  can  be  spared  and  can  be  well  used  in  the 
development  of  her  mind.  If  the  nervous  strain 
too  common  at  this  age  could  be  relieved  we  would 
have  fewer  nervous  women  and  a  healthier  and 
happier  posterity. 

As  puberty  approaches,  a  mother  should  give 
her  daughter  adequate  information  so  that  she 
should  not  be  frightened  at  the  first  appearance  of 
the  menstrual  flow,  nor  take  any  risks  at  this  pe- 
riod. Menstruation  is  the  sign  of  the  possibility 
of   motherhood.     If   properly   taught   this    fact, 

25 


HERSELF 

every  girl  will  be  glad  she  menstruates  and  will 
want  to  be  careful  during  the  period.  On  account 
of  lack  of  early  instruction,  many  a  girl  obtains 
wrong  ideas  regarding  this  function  and  it  pro- 
duces in  her  a  feeling  of  repugnance.  She  should 
be  taught  the  reasons  for  observing  prudence 
during  the  menstrual  period.  The  possible  life- 
long invalidism  that  may  result  should  be  pointed 
out.  A  woman  owes  it  to  herself  to  take  good 
care  of  herself  during  her  menstrual  periods.  For 
two  or  three  days  at  least  she  should  avoid  any 
unnecessary  strain,  He  down  and  rest  as  much  as 
possible  and  not  worry  over  school  or  other  duties. 
Especial  attention  should  be  paid  to  cleanliness 
durinp-  this  period.  A  sponge  bath  taken  in  a 
warm  room  is  not  injurious  and  unpleasant  odors 
can  be  avoided  by  sponging  the  parts  with  a  warm 
antiseptic  solution  upon  changing  the  cloth.  Ev- 
ery woman  should  be  provided  with  a  circular  gir- 
dle cut  upon  the  bias  so  it  may  be  elastic,  and  pro- 
vided with  tabs  to  which  to  pin  the  folded  cloth. 
She  also  should  have  a  supply  of  sanitary  cloths 
made  of  absorbent  cotton-fabric,  or  pads  made  of 
absorbent  cotton  enclosed  in  gauze.  The  latter  es- 
pecially arc  convenient  for  the  girl  who  is  obliged 

26 


MENSTRUATION 

to  room  away  from  home,  for  they  may  be  burned 
and  the  cost  of  new  ones  is  no  greater  than  the 
laundry  of  cloths.  These  pads  or  cloths  should  be 
changed  at  least  twice  a  day.  It  also  is  necessary 
that  one  should  bathe  the  parts  in  warm  water 
with  each  change,  as  unpleasant  odors  can  thereby 
be  avoided.  At  the  close  of  each  period  she 
should  take  a  bath  and  change  all  clothing.  One 
cannot  be  too  careful  about  these  matters  so  essen- 
tial to  cleanliness.  It  is  surprising  how  many 
women  neglect  these  important  matters.  The  er- 
roneous idea  that  bathing  of  any  sort  at  this  time 
may  have  disastrous  results  accounts  for  much  of 
this  neglect.  If  proper  care  is  taken  warm  sponge 
baths  cannot  be  injurious. 

A  woman  in  normal  health  should  not  suffer  at 
the  menstrual  period.  She  normally  will  have  a 
feeling  of  lassitude  and  disinclination  for  any  great 
mental  or  physical  work,  perhaps  accompanied  by 
a  slight  feeling  of  uneasiness  in  the  pelvic  region. 
Because  so  many  women  do  suffer  at  these  periods 
it  often  is  considered  as  "  natural  "  and  allowed  to 
continue. 

The  phenomena  often  noted  at  the  menstrual 
period  arc, —  pains  in  various  parts  of  the  body, 

27 


HERSELF 

hot  flashes,  chilliness  and  various  hysterical  symp- 
toms. A  few  days  before  menstruation  com- 
mences there  may  be  various  nervous  symptoms, 
as  irritability  and  a  disinclination  for  any  exertion. 
Dark  circles  often  appear  under  the  eyes  and  the 
breasts  become  enlarged  and  painful.  A  sense  of 
fullness  and  oppression  may  be  felt  in  the  head. 

Any  severe  pain  or  profuse  flow  during  the 
period  or  a  discharge  between  periods  indicates  a 
weakened  or  diseased  condition  and  should  not  be 
neglected,  for  it  sooner  or  later  will  affect  the  whole 
system.  A  woman  suffering  from  female  diseases 
not  only  is  unable  to  perform  her  work  in  a  normal 
manner  but  the  pale  skin,  dark  circles  under  the 
eyes  and  drawn  haggard  look  which  accompany 
these  conditions  rob  her  of  her  charm  of  physical 
excellence. 

The  menstrual  flow  appears,  as  a  rule,  every 
twenty-eight  days,  although  the  length  of  time 
varies  with  the  individual.  The  average  duration 
is  five  days,  but  varies  from  three  to  seven.  The 
flow  consists  of  blood  from  the  uterine  mucosa  (lin- 
ing of  the  womb)  together  with  small  quantities  of 
mucus.  The  color  generally  is  dark  at  first  while 
later  it  becomes  more  pale.    Women  in  poor  health 

28 


MENSTRUATION 

often  have  a  pale  discharge.  There  always  Is  a 
faint  odor  to  the  menstrual  flow,  which  has  been 
likened  to  the  odor  of  marigolds.  The  quantity 
varies  with  the  Individual.  Usually  fleshy  girls  flow 
more  than  thin  ones  and  dark  complexioned  ones 
than  light  ones.  The  average  quantity  is  four  to 
six  fluid  ounces.  The  time  between  the  periods 
Is  required  by  the  uterus  or  womb  to  first  restore 
the  lining  and  then  prepare  It  for  the  reception  of 
the  ovum.  Every  month  one  or  more  ova 
(eggs)  leave  the  ovary,  pass  to  the  uterus  and,  If 
not  Impregnated,  pass  off  with  the  menstrual  flow. 
The  material  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the 
ovum  is  used  to  nourish  the  new  life  if  pregnancy 
occurs,  but  when  it  does  not,  this  surplus  passes 
off  in  the  form  of  the  menstrual  flow. 

The  menopause  or  change  of  life  Is  the  end  of 
the  child-bearing  period  of  a  woman's  life.  The 
average  age  at  which  it  occurs  is  forty-six,  although 
there  Is  a  great  difference  as  to  this.  In  some 
women  It  has  been  known  to  occur  as  early  as  the 
thirtieth  year,  while  in  others  It  does  not  come 
until  the  fifty-fifth  year.  As  a  rule,  a  woman  who 
commences  to  menstruate  at  an  early  age  continues 
to  do  so  until  a  late  age,  while  with  a  woman  who 

29 


HERSELF 

commences  to  menstruate  late,  the  change  comes 
early.  At  this  period  of  a  woman's  life,  there 
arc  numerous  changes  taking  place  in  the  body. 
The  ovaries  and  uterus  atrophy  or  shrink  in  size, 
and  cease  to  functionate.  The  nervous  system  is 
being  readjusted  to  meet  the  changed  conditions. 
One  symptom  of  the  approach  of  this  period  is 
irregularity  in  menstruation;  sometimes  several 
periods  are  missed,  then  the  menstrual  flow  ap- 
pears normally  for  several  months  and  then  disap- 
pears again.  Often  the  woman  complains  of  hot 
flashes,  cramps  in  the  limbs  and  other  parts  of  the 
body.  These  arc  caused  by  the  attempts  to  re- 
adjust the  nervous  system  to  the  altered  conditions. 
A  great  many  women  worry  unnecessarily,  for 
there  is  no  especial  danger  at  this  time  unless  the 
body  has  been  neglected  previously  and  a  diseased 
condition  is  present.  But  the  body  needs  a  little 
extra  care,  just  as  it  did  at  puberty.  So  many 
women  break  down  their  health  by  worrying  at  this 
period  over  what  might  happen.  The  best  plan 
for  every  woman,  as  soon  as  she  perceives  the  ap- 
proach of  this  period,  is  to  go  to  a  reliable  physi- 
cian and  have  a  thorough  examination.  Then  if 
there  arc  any  neglected  tears  or  chronic  inflamma- 

30 


MENSTRUATION 

tions  they  can  be  corrected  and  danger  removed. 
If  a  person  were  to  cross  a  deep  lake  and  had  any 
doubts  regarding  the  worthiness  of  the  vessel  pro- 
vided for  his  use,  he  would  be  very  foolish  if  he 
did  not  have  a  trained  boat-builder  examine  his 
vessel  and  repair  any  weak  places.  It  is  just  as 
important  for  a  woman  about  to  cross  this  period 
of  her  life  to  go  to  a  trained  repairer  of  bodies  and 
have  him  correct  any  weak  places. 

The  various  changes  taking  place  consume  S(\ 
much  of  the  woman's  strength  that  she  requires  an 
extra  amount  of  rest  and  cannot  use  up  as  much 
energy  in  working  as  at  other  periods  of  her  life. 
The  ordinary  woman  does  not  realize  the  need  of 
extra  rest  during  this  period  and  so  continues  her 
usual  work.  Then  the  extra  drain  on  her  nervou** 
system  shows  itself  in  various  forms.  The  dis- 
turbances sometimes  are  productive  of  so  much 
discomfort  and  so  often  are  exaggerated  beyond 
physiological  limits  that  the  patient  is  impelled  to 
seek  relief  and  often  requires  a  physician's  atten- 
tion. Puberty  or  the  period  of  development  ex- 
tends over  several  years,  so  the  menopause  or 
period  of  atrophy  extends  over  a  period  of  from 
three  to  five  years.     If  a  woman  relaxes  and  allows 

31 


HERSELF 

the  changes  to  proceed  naturally  she  need  have 
no  cause  to  worry,  but  she  must  remember  that 
rest  from  continual  strain  Is  necessary  during  this 
period.  Freedom  from  care,  relaxation  of  phys- 
ical and  mental  effort,  regular  periods  of  complete 
rest  once  or  twice  a  day,  a  reduction  of  the  diet 
and  regulation  of  the  bowels  should  be  the  first 
principles  of  treatment.  Then  —  do  not  worry 
but  occupy  the  mind  with  happy  thoughts. 


3^ 


CHAPTER  III 

DISEASES   OF    THE    FEMALE    ORGANS 

So  much  of  the  suffering  among  women  Is  un- 
necessary, being  due  to  the  neglect  of  the  little 
things,  so  much  ill  health  can  be  relieved  by  at- 
tention to  a  few  simple  hygienic  measures,  that  I 
think  it  wise  to  describe  some  of  the  most  common 
disorders  of  the  female  organs,  and  to  explain 
their  symptoms  so  that  you  would  not  ignorantly 
neglect  them,  if  you  should  be  so  unfortunate  as 
to  contract  any. 

The  most  common  diseases  of  the  female  or- 
gans may  be  classed  as  displacements,  inflamma- 
tions and  tumors. 

On  account  of  its  lack  of  strong  attachment, 
the  womb  is  very  easily  displaced.  When  from 
any  cause  the  womb  is  congested  and  heavy  the 
extra  weight  stretches  the  supporting  muscles  and 
ligaments,  which  then  allow  it  to  fall  out  of  place. 
It  also   may  be   displaced  by   a   sudden   fall,   by 

33 


HERSELF 

jumping  or  other  strenuous  exercise.  As  the 
womb  normally  is  heavier  at  the  menstrual  period 
than  at  any  other  time  and  as  there  is  a  natural 
congestion  then,  it  is  more  easily  displaced  at  that 
time  than  during  any  other  part  of  the  month. 
This  is  one  reason  why  one  should  be  careful 
not  to  take  strenuous  exercise  at  the  menstrual 
period. 

The  most  common  displacement,  or  the  most 
common  way  for  the  womb  to  tip,  is  backwards 
and  at  the  same  time  it  usually  falls  downward. 
You  remember,  the  rectum  is  directly  back  of 
the  womb,  so,  if  the  womb  is  tipped  backwards,  it 
presses  against  the  rectum.  This  tends  to  pre- 
vent the  feces,  or  bowel  movement,  from  passing 
out  naturally  and  helps  to  produce  constipation. 
The  womb,  pressing  against  the  rectum,  also 
presses  on  the  blood  vessels  which  are  very  numer- 
ous there.  This  pressure  on  the  blood  vessels 
prevents  the  blood  from  leaving  them.  If  it  is 
held  there,  it  causes  the  blood  vessels  to  dilate  in 
order  to  be  large  enough  to  contain  it.  We  call 
this  enlarged  portion  of  the  vein  a  blood  tumor. 
These  tumors  or  dilated  blood  vessels  of  the  rec- 
tum arc  called  hemorrhoids  or  piles.      I  will  ex- 

34 


DISEASES  OF  THE  ORGANS 

plain  these  more  thoroughly  when  I  talk  to  you 
about  constipation. 

The  womb  may  tip  forward,  pressing  on  the 
bladder  and  causing  a  frequent  desire  to  urinate. 
More  rarely  it  is  tipped  to  one  side.  It  then 
tends  to  pull  on  the  ovaries  and  produce  pain  and 
various  nervous  symptoms. 

The  womb  may  fall  downward,  pressing  against 
both  the  bladder  and  rectum  and  dragging  the 
ovaries  and  tubes  out  of  their  natural  positions. 
Sometimes  it  even  protrudes  from  the  vagina. 
Any  falling  or  displacement  of  the  womb  pulls  on 
the  tubes  and  ovaries,  often  producing  an  inflam- 
mation. This  inflammation  should  not  be  al- 
lowed to  continue,  as  it  may  become  serious,  even 
extending  to  the  peritoneum  and  producing  peri- 
tonitis. The  nerves  of  the  uterus  are  very  closely 
connected  with  the  spinal  nerves,  therefore,  any 
displacement  reacts  through  them  and  may  pro- 
duce headache  and  backache,  which  are  the  com- 
mon accompaniments  of  any  uterine  disorder. 

One  of  the  most  simple  and  yet  efficacious 
treatments  to  correct  a  displacement  downward 
and  backward  is  to  assume  the  knee-chest  position 
for  a  few  moments  morning  and  evening  after  the 

35 


36 


DISEASES  OF  THE  ORGANS 

clothing  has  been  remo7cd.  In  the  knee-chest  po- 
sition, the  patient  kneels  on  the  bed,  then  bends 
forward  until  her  chest  touches  the  bed;  the  back 
slopes  down  and  the  thighs  should  be  at  right 
angles  with  the  bed.  This  position  allows  the 
various  organs  to  fall  forward  and  toward  the  up- 
ncr  part  of  the  body,  the  pressure  on  the  uterus 
29  relieved  and  it  assumes  its  natural  position. 
This  treatment,  persisted  in,  will  relieve  nearly 
every  case  which  has  not  some  other  disorder  con- 
nected with  it.  If  every  woman  would  assume 
this  position  for  a  few  minutes  once  or  twice  a 
week,  just  before  retiring,  she  would  be  greatly 
benefited;  for  the  majority  of  women  have  a 
slight  falling  of  the  womb,  which  then  presses  on 
the  rectal  and  other  nerves  causing  various  nervous 
symptoms. 

The  womb  and  ovaries  are  surrounded  by  a 
dense  network  of  nerves  and  blood  vessels,  mak- 
ing them  very  liable  to  congestion.  Tight  cloth- 
ing or  improperly  fitted  clothing  causes  pressure 
and  interferes  with  the  circulation.  I  believe  that 
a  large  percentage  of  the  objections  to  the  corset 
originated  from  women  wearing  improperly  fitted 
corsets  which  pushed  the  organs  out  of  place.     A 

37 


HERSELF 

corset  fitted  to  the  wearer  is  not  injurious  and 
serves  as  a  support.  Overwork,  catching  cold 
and  excesses  may  produce  a  congestion  which  is 
one  stage  of  inflammation.  The  most  common 
symptoms  of  inflammation  of  the  womb  are  pain  in 
the  pelvic  region,  a  dull  backache,  especially  across 
the  hips,  and  a  vaginal  discharge  called  leucor 
rhoea  (whites).  Any  leucorrhoea  shows  a  dr 
ordered  condition  which  should  be  corrected.  It 
may  be  simply  of  a  catarrhal  nature,  due  to  pres- 
sure or  coldj  or  it  may  indicate  a  more  serious 
condition,  as  the  presence  of  one  of  the  black 
plagues.  Whenever  a  woman  notices  a  vaginal 
discharge,  it  is  a  wise  plan  to  go  at  once  to  a  re- 
liable physician,  find  out  what  is  the  cause  and 
nature  and  then  take  measures  to  correct  it.  In 
the  beginning  a  very  little  treatment,  such  as  hot 
douches,  may  be  all  that  is  required,  while  if  un- 
treated the  condition  may  become  serious,  as  you 
will  understand  when  I  explain  about  the  black 
plagues. 

Any  disorder  of  the  uterus  or  ovaries  reacts 
through  the  nerves  upon  other  parts  of  the  body 
and  may  produce  various  symptoms  such  as 
general     weakness,     headaches     and     backaches. 

38 


DISEASES  OF  THE  ORGANS 

This  drain  on  the  system  often  is  shown  by  dark 
circles  under  the  eyes,  pale  skin  and  a  drawn,  hag- 
gard expression.  All  these  tend  to  rob  a  woman 
of  her  charm  of  physical  excellence,  and  none  of 
us  wish  to  lose  that;  for  it  is  natural  for  all 
women  to  wish  to  appear  attractive. 

One  of  the  most  common  of  the  so-called 
female  disorders,  which  seems  to  be  the  lot  of  the 
majority  of  women,  is  dysmenorrhoea  or  painful 
menstruation.  This  is  not  a  disease  in  itself,  but 
the  symptom  of  various  disorders.  A  woman  in 
normal  health  should  not  suffer  at  her  menstrual 
period;  so  if  she  does  suffer  it  shows  there  is  some- 
thing wrong.  The  natural  thing  for  anyone  to 
do  who  had  dysmenorrhoea  would  be  first  to  find 
the  cause  of  this  pain  and  then  take  measures  to 
correct  it.  It  may  be  due  to  displacements,  in- 
flammations or  tumors;  it  may  be  due  to  a  con- 
traction of  the  mouth  of  the  womb  which  does 
not  dilate  sufficiently  to  allow  the  menstrual  dis- 
charge to  flow  freely.  It  may  be  due  to  neuralgia 
or  rheumatism  of  the  uterus  or  ovaries.  Pain 
always  indicates  an  unnatural  condition.  It  is  the 
cry  of  tortured  nerves.  The  cause  should  be  de- 
termined   by    a    competent    physician    and    then 

39 


HERSELF 

measures  taken  immediately  to  restore  the  normal 
condition. 

One  who  suffers  from  dysmenorrhoea  should  try 
to  plan  her  work,  so  that  she  may  rest  the  first  day 
of  her  menstrual  period,  and,  if  possible,  the  pre- 
ceding day.  Absolute  rest  in  bed  at  this  time  is 
beneficial.  A  hot  sitz  bath,  hot  foot  bath  or  hot 
vaginal  douche  taken  just  previous  to  the  com- 
mencement of  the  period  will  aid  in  relieving  the 
congestion  and  thus  lessen  the  pain.  After  the 
flow  has  started  hot  foot  baths  and  hot  applica- 
tions to  the  abdomen  may  be  used.  Hot  drinks 
also  may  be  taken,  but  one  should  not  get  in  the 
habit  of  using  any  drug  at  this  time.  Hot  ginger 
tea  will  do  as  much  good  as  one  prepared  with 
some  habit-forming  drug.  Many  of  the  remedies 
advertised  as  a  cure  for  this  condition  are  com- 
posed chiefly  of  alcohol,  and,  although  they  may 
give  a  temporary  relief,  the  benefit  is  not  perma- 
nent. Careful  attention  to  diet  and  exercise, 
with  regular  hours  of  sleep,  are  essential  points  to 
be  considered  if  one  would  be  free  from  this  dis- 
agreeable trouble. 

Another  symptom  which  often  causes  much 
alarm  to  the  patient  is  amenorrhoea  or  deficient  or 

40 


DISEASES  OF  THE  ORGANS 

scanty  menstruation.     This  may  result  from  fear, 
worry,  catching  cold  or  to  an  enlargement  of  the 
womb.     It  also  is  one  of  the  first  symptoms  of 
pregnancy.     Sometimes  it  indicates  an  impover- 
ished condition  of  the  blood  and  shows  the  need  of 
a  general  building  up  of  the  system.     This  is  true 
especially  in  young  girls  who  have  what  is  called 
chlorosis  or  green  sickness.     These  girls  are  pale, 
weak,  sometimes  having  a  greenish  cast  to  their 
complexions.     They  need  good  care  and  nourish- 
ing food  and  plenty  of  light,  out-door  exercise. 
In  young  girls  I  sometimes  find  an  irritation  of 
the  vagina  which  causes  pain.     This  may  be  due 
to  the  retenf'on  of  secretions  in  the  vagina.     The 
general  idea  that  only  married  women  have  leucor- 
rhoea,  or  whites,  is  fallacious.     Virgins  may  have 
it.     The    u'ual    cause    is    catching    cold    at    the 
menstrual  period.     Another  delusion  is  that  these 
girls  should  not  take  douches  for  fear  they  might 
injure  the  hymen.     This  is  erroneous,  for  douches 
are  neces■^ary  in  the  treatment  of  this  condition 
and,  except  in  very  rare  cases,  a  douche  can  be 
taken  vith  an  especially  small  douche  point  with- 
out injury  to  the  parts.     There  normally  must  be 
a  small  opening  in  the  hymen  to  permit  the  pas- 

41 


HERSELF 

sage  of  the  menstrual  flow.     If  a  small  douche 
point  is  used  no  harm  will  result. 

When  I  talked  to  you  about  the  structure  of 
the  external  generative  organs,   I  mentioned  the 
clitoris  and  explained  that  sometimes  the  prepuce 
or  foreskin   is  bound  down,   or   is   too   tight,   so 
that    the    natural    secretions    are    retained    under 
it  and  produce  an   irritation;  that  the  operation 
for  the  unhooding  of  the  clitoris  is  very  similiar 
to  that  of  circumcision   in  the  male  and  is  per- 
formed for  similar  causes.     Many  a  woman  who 
has  been  nervous  all  her  life,  owes  her  condition 
to  a  hooded  clitoris,  which  a  very  simple  opera- 
tion would  correct.     A  hooded  clitoris  also  may 
have  something  to  do  with  the  immoral  life  of 
some  girls.     The   other  day   I   received  a   letter 
from   an   aged  physician   who,    in   discussing  the 
tendency  to  immoral  practices,  says:  "You  say  in 
one    of    your    articles,    'What    is    the    remedy? 
Educate!'     Well,  perhaps,  but  if  you  would  let 
me  circumcise  the  girl  early  in  life,   I  believe  it 
would  be  more  certain."     There  is  considerable 
truth   in   his   statement.     A  hooded   clitoris   pro- 
duces a  constant  irritation  which  tends  to  lead  to 
habits  of  self-abuse  and  perhaps  immorality. 

42 


DISEASES  OF  THE  ORGANS 

The  other  common  disorder  which  I  named  at 
first  is  a  tumor.  Tumors  are  any  unnatural 
growth.  They  may  form  in  any  part  of  the  body, 
but  just  now  we  will  speak  only  of  those  affect- 
ing the  internal  female  organs.  Tumors  may  form 
in  the  cavity  of  the  womb,  in  its  walls  or  on  the 
outside  of  it.  The  common  symptoms  are  an  en- 
largement of  the  abdomen  accompanied  usually 
by  pain  due  to  pressure  on  the  nerves.  There 
also  may  be  some  hemorrhage  at  other  than  the 
regular  menstrual  periods. 

Sometimes  the  ovaries  are  diseased  and  become 
enlarged,  tender  and  filled  with  fluid.  Then  they 
are  spoken  of  as  cystic  tumors  or  as  cysts.  The 
tubes  may  become  inflamed  and  filled  with  pus. 
The  most  common  cause  of  these  pus  tubes  is  one 
of  the  black  plagues.  With  all  these  tumors  the 
treatment  usually  Is  to  remove  the  tumor  and 
sometimes  the  entire  organ.  In  a  few  cases  it  Is 
possible  that  the  fluid  or  other  contents  of  the 
tumor  may  be  absorbed.  If  the  general  health  and 
circulation  are  improved.  In  some  cases  we  find 
what  is  called  a  phantom  tumor.  There  really  is 
no  tumor,  although  the  symptoms  may  be  such  that 
even   reliable  physicians  are  misled.     The  symp- 

43 


HERSELF 

toms  are  due  to  a  nervous  condition.  These  phan' 
torn  tumors  have  given  many  a  quack  a  reputation 
for  removing  tumors  without  the  use  of  the  knife. 
A  carcinoma  or  cancer  is  a  malignant  tumor, 
that  is,  one  that  tends  to  grow  worse  and  to  re- 
appear if  it  apparently  is  removed.  The  reap- 
pearance may  be  in  the  same  place  or  in  an  en- 
tirely different  portion  of  the  body.  Cancer  of 
the  uterus  is  not  uncommon  in  women.  It  fre- 
quently follows  neglect  of  some  injury.  For  ex- 
ample, it  will  appear  on  the  site  of  an  unrepaired 
tear.  It  most  commonly  comes  after  the  meno- 
pause. The  change  that  is  undergone  at  that  time 
seems  to  stir  things  up  and  bring  to  light  any  neg- 
lected injury.  This  is  another  reason  why  every 
woman  at  the  menopause  should  undergo  a 
thorough  examination  and  have  any  defect  re- 
paired, thus  avoiding  much  of  the  possibility  of 
trouble.  A  frequent  symptom  of  carcinoma  of 
the  uterus  Is  hemorrhage  at  Irregular  times  after 
the  menopause.  Any  woman  who  has  such  a  con- 
dition would  be  wise  if  she  immediately  repaired 
to  a  physician  and  determined  the  cause  of  the 
hemorrhage.  In  the  beginning  it  is  possible  to  re- 
move a  cancer,  but  later  it  becomes  so  involved  in 

44 


DISEASES  OF  THE  ORGANS 

the  surrounding  structures  that  its  removal  is  im- 
possible. 

You  may  think  I  am  trying  to  increase  business 
for  the  physicians  but  in  reality  my  advice,  if  taken, 
would  lessen  their  practice.  It  is  another  applica- 
tion of  *'  a  stitch  in  time  saves  nine."  In  the  be- 
ginning almost  all  these  diseases  can  be  corrected 
with  very  little  trouble,  while  if  neglected  the  proc- 
ess is  much  slower.  The  probabilities  are  that 
the  doctor  will  have  the  case  later,  if  not  con- 
sulted early,  but  instead  of  a  few  office  treatments 
he  will  have  an  expensive  operation.  So,  you 
see,  I  really  am  trying  to  save  you  doctors'  bills 
when  I  urge  early  and  thorough  examinations. 
There  is  a  peculiar  thing  about  the  human  race. 
A  machine  will  get  out  of  order  and  the  owner 
will  send  for  an  expert  machinist  to  repair  it  — 
not  attempting  to  patch  it  up  himself.  But  when 
these  bodies  of  ours,  the  most  wonderful  and  com- 
plicated of  machines,  get  out  of  repair  we  try  to 
patch  them  up  ourselves  or  try  various  remedies 
recommended  by  those  who  know  worse  than  noth- 
ing about  the  physical  machinery.  Then  we  think 
we  are  saving  doctors'  bills,  when  at  the  same 
time  we  are  spending  twice  as  much  on  question- 

45 


HERSELF 

able  repairs — patent  medicines,  which  often  do 
more  harm  than  good.  Frequently  they  contain 
stimulants  which  produce  a  mythical  improvement 
but  leave  the  system  worse  off  than  before. 


46 


CHAPTER  IV 

CONSTIPATION HEMORRHOIDS 

A  REGULAR  dally  movement  of  the  bowels  is 
necessary  to  health.  Much  of  the  illness  in  the 
world  might  have  been  avoided  if  the  victims  had 
taken  better  care  of  the  excretory  organs.  One 
of  the  first  questions  a  physician  asks  a  patient 
is,  "  How  are  your  bowels,  do  they  move  regu- 
larly every  day?  "  In  some  cases  that  is  the  first 
time  the  patient  has  thought  of  them,  and  he  has 
to  think  some  time  before  he  can  remember  just 
when  and  how  often  his  bowels  did  move.  Then 
perhaps  he  is  not  sure.  In  a  great  many  cases  it 
is  a  routine  practice  with  physicians  to  give  a 
"  good  cleaning  out,"  that  is,  to  give  a  thorough 
laxative.  Many  times  this  is  all  the  treatment  re- 
quired and  in  other  cases  it  only  is  combined  with 
a  little  intestinal  antiseptic  to  further  carry  out 
the  cleaning  process. 

The  most  common  cause  of  constipation  Is  Ir- 

47 


HERSELF 

regularity  in  going  to  the  toilet.  When  the  de- 
sire for  defecation  comes,  we  are  too  busy  and 
postpone  it  until  some  more  convenient  time,  which 
time  may  be  too  late.  Nature  is  the  best  judge 
as  to  when  the  bowels  are  ready  to  be  emptied. 
If  we  do  not  obey  her  call,  we  must  take  the  conse- 
quences. When  the  waste  material  is  ready  to  be 
voided,  It  is  in  a  semi-fluid  state,  but,  if  It  remains 
in  the  intestines  too  long  the  water  Is  absorbed 
and  the  waste  material  Is  left  in  a  hard  mass  which 
is  expelled  with  difficulty.  Not  only  that,  but  the 
desire  to  expel  It  soon  passes.  Nature,  finding  we 
do  not  respond  to  her  call,  ceases  to  notify  us. 

If  the  waste  material  Is  allowed  to  remain  In 
the  bowels,  not  only  the  water  Is  absorbed  but 
with  it  some  of  the  poisons  from  the  waste 
material,  which  are  taken  up  by  the  blood  and  car- 
ried to  all  parts  of  the  system,  causing  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  and  pain.  This  absorption  of 
toxins  (poisons)  causes  headache,  loss  of  ap- 
petite, a  sense  of  depression  and  a  lack  of  energy. 

The  pressure  of  the  hard  material  on  the  tender 
tissues  of  the  rectum  causes  hemorrhoids  or  piles, 
by  irritating  the  tissues  and  causing  a  congestion. 
Hemorrhoids  are  enlarged  veins  which  have  been 

48 


CONSTIPATION  —  HEMORRHOIDS 

so  irritated  and  filled  with  extra  blood  that  they 
have  lost  their  power  to  contract.  These  enlarged 
veins  may  remain  inside  the  rectum  and  then  arc 
known  as  internal  piles.  Sometimes  they  pro- 
trude externally  and  then  are  known  as  external 
piles.  Frequently  they  become  tender  and  cause 
a  great  deal  of  pain.  In  some  cases  one  of  the  lit- 
tle veins  becomes  so  engorged  with  blood  that  it 
bursts  and  allows  the  contained  blood  to  escape. 
This  is  known  as  bleeding  piles.  For  mild  cases 
of  hemorrhoids  (piles)  the  treatment  is  to  correct 
the  accompanying  constipation,  then  take  an  enema 
or  injection  of  warm  water  morning  and  evening, 
using  the  water  as  hot  as  can  be  borne  and  allow- 
ing it  to  run  in  and  out  the  rectum  for  some  time. 
Following  this,  an  astringent  and  soothing  lotion 
should  be  applied. 

Constipation  may  be  caused  by  retroversion  of 
the  uterus.  If  the  uterus  is  tipped  backwards 
it  presses  on  the  rectum,  preventing  the  passage 
of  the  feces  (bowel  movement).  This  pressure 
also  causes  hemorrhoids.  In  this  case  the  treat- 
ment is  to  correct  the  displacement.  In  many 
cases  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  take  the  knee-chest 
position  for  a  few  minutes  night  and  morning. 

49 


HERSELF 

Always  In  the  treatment  of  constipation,  the  first 
item  is  to  discover  the  cause.  We  have  noted 
that  the  chief  cause  is  irregularity  in  going  to  the 
toilet,  therefore,  the  first  measure  to  be  taken  in  the 
treatment  is  regularity  in  going  to  the  toilet. 
Choose  a  convenient  hour,  usually  right  after 
breakfast,  and  always  go  to  the  toilet  at  that  time 
no  matter  if  there  is  a  desire  or  not.  At  first 
there  may  be  no  natural  movement  but  if  you  per- 
sist, your  efforts  will  be  rewarded.  For  the  first 
few  days  it  is  well  to  take  an  enema  of  warm, 
soapy  water  at  this  time.  Every  day  take  exer- 
cise that  will  strengthen  the  muscles  of  the  ab- 
domen. Bending  forward  and  touching  the  toes 
with  the  fingers  without  bending  the  knees  is  one 
valuable  exercise.  This  should  be  done  ten  or 
twelve  times  morning  and  evening.  A  daily  brisk 
walk  in  the  fresh  air  is  another  good  exercise. 
Fruit  or  figs  eaten  with  the  meals  or  a  glass  of 
water  taken  before  breakfast  and  upon  retiring 
often  proves  very  beneficial  in  relieving  a  tendency 
to  constipation.  There  is  an  old  saying,  "  An  ap- 
ple or  two  before  going  to  bed,  and  the  doctor 
will  go  begging  for  his  bread."     This  really  is  a 

50 


CONSTIPATION  —  HEMORRHOIDS 

practical  Idea  and  more  nearly  true  than  many  old 
sayings. 

Cathartics  or  laxatives  should  not  be  taken  ex- 
cept for  an  occasional  dose  or  during  illness  upon 
the  advice  of  a  physician.  So  common  is  the 
practice  of  taking  daily  laxatives  that  it  has  be- 
come a  "  national  curse  "  I  People  do  not  realize 
that  they  are  slaves  to  this  habit,  so  they  continue 
to  take  their  daily  doses  of  "  teas  "  or  "  waters.'* 
In  many  cases  a  patient  will  tell  his  physician  that 
his  bowels  are  "  all  right,"  that  they  move  every 
day.  Further  questionings  reveal  the  fact  that 
he  Is  In  the  habit  of  taking  some  laxative  fre- 
quently. The  bowels  are  not  "  all  right "  If  any 
laxative  is  required. 

Massage  of  the  abdomen  usually  is  very  bene- 
ficial in  treating  constipation.  It  acts  by  stimu- 
lating the  muscles  and  should  be  given  at  set  times 
in  the  day  but  never  until  two  hours  after  any  meal. 
The  various  vibrators  act  In  the  same  manner  as 
massage.  In  any  massage  of  the  abdomen  the 
thighs  should  be  flexed,  as  this  relaxes  the  ab- 
dominal muscles. 

Enemas  or  injections  of  warm  water  may  be 

51 


HERSELF 

taken  occasionally  and  then  are  beneficial,  but  if 
long  continued  are  injurious  by  reason  of  their 
irritating  effect.  At  times,  when  the  stomach  and 
intestines  have  been  over-loaded  with  irritating 
material,  an  enema  is  one  of  the  quickest  measures 
for  relief.  In  obstinate  constipation  two  or  three 
ounces  of  warm  olive  oil  injected  slowly  into  the 
rectum  at  night  and  allowed  to  remain  until  morn- 
ing will  soften  the  waste  material  so  it  can  be 
evacuated  easily  in  the  morning. 

Constipation  never  should  be  neglected  as  it  car- 
ries in  its  train  a  long  line  of  disorders,  as  hemor- 
rhoids (piles),  abscesses,  and  intestinal  obstruc- 
tion. 

Indigestion  and  constipation  frequently  are 
bosom  friends.  How  often  indigestion  is  a  result 
of  nervous  strain  is  perhaps  seldom  realized.  A 
business  man  eats  his  lunch  and  other  meals  in  a 
hurry,  with  his  mind  on  his  business.  His  ener- 
gies are  being  consumed  by  his  brain  and  very 
little  is  left  to  be  used  in  the  digestion  of  his  food. 
One  never  should  eat  when  tired  and  nervous. 
Take  a  few  moments'  absolute  rest  before  meals. 
If  possible  lie  down  and  relax  all  muscles  for  a  few 
moments.     Then  eat  your  meal  slowly  and  if  pos- 

52 


CONSTIPATION  —  HEMORRHOIDS 

sibic  have  some  pleasant  companion  who  will  talk 
with  you  on  subjects  not  connected  with  your  busi- 
ness cares.  You  will  be  surprised  to  note  the  im- 
provement in  your  digestion  and  incidentally  in 
your  tendency  to  constipation. 

For  tlie  noon  meal,  office  workers  should  eat 
only  light  and  easily  digested  food.  Eat  your 
heaviest  meal  after  the  work  for  the  day  is 
finished  and  the  blood  which  has  been  required 
by  the  brain  can  be  spared  to  the  stomach. 
People  doing  manual  labor  that  requires  physical 
strength  need,  and  can  digest,  a  heavy  noonday 
meal  but  the  requirements  of  the  brain  workers 
are  quite  different. 

Many  girls  break  down  on  account  of  lack  of 
sufficient  nourishment.  Coffee  and  rolls  for  break- 
fast, ice  cream  and  rolls  for  lunch  and  a  sandwich 
and  coffee  for  dinner  is  not  sufficient  food  for  any 
working  girl.  And  yet  that  is  about  the  diet  of 
hundreds  of  girls.  Often  it  is  impossible  for  her 
to  provide  more,  for  when  a  girl  must  pay  for  her 
board,  room,  clothes  and  laundry  from  her  salary 
of  five  or  six  dollars  a  week,  sufficient  food  be- 
comes an  impossibility.  Many  girls  actually  are 
slowly    starving    on    this    account.     When     the 

53 


HERSELF 

wheels  of  progress  make  it  possible  for  every 
working  girl  to  have  a  comfortable  home  and 
sufficient  nourishing  food  many  of  the  social  prob- 
lems will  right  themselves. 


54 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   BLACK   PLAGUES 

I  PROMISED  to  explain  to  you  what  I  meant  b} 
the  black  plagues.  It  is  strange  when  anything  is 
as  widely  spread  as  are  these  diseases  that  so  tcw 
people  know  anything  about  them,  or  realize  their 
importance.  At  one  time  epidemics  of  typhoid 
fever  were  regarded  as  a  revelation  of  the  wrath 
of  God.  Now  we  know  they  are  due  to  careless- 
ness and  lack  of  sanitation.  It  is  the  same  with 
the  sufferings  of  women.  We  used  to  think  it  was 
a  dispensation  of  Providence  if  a  woman  were  com- 
pelled to  undergo  an  operation.  Now  we  know 
It  usually  is  due  to  someone's  lack  of  care,  to  a 
desecration  of  Nature's  teachings. 

I  remember  when  I  was  quite  young  hearing 
mention  made  of  a  "  bad  disease."  Concerning 
the  nature  of  this  disease  I  was  ignorant  but  I 
gathered  the  idea  that  it  was  som.e  terrible  disease 
which  was  contracted  only  by  the  most  depraved 

55 


HERSELr 

of  mortals.  How  little  I  suspected  its  widely- 
spread  distribution,  and  how  little  I  dreamed  that 
among  my  acquaintances  might  be  any  afflicted 
with  these  diseases !  nor  did  I  dream  of  the  danger 
of  innocent  contagion.  Since  then  I  have  learned 
what  these  diseases  were.  Now  we  call  them  the 
black  plagues,  because,  owing  to  the  prejudice  of 
the  majority,  we  dare  not  use  their  correct  names 
generally.  I  have  no  doubt  you  will  be  as  sur- 
prised and  shocked  as  I  was  at  the  things  I  am 
going  to  impart  to  you. 

By  black  plagues  we  mean  the  two  diseases 
spoken  of  by  physicians  as  the  venereal  diseases, 
because  they  usually  are  contracted  during  sexual 
intercourse. 

The  most  common  of  these  diseases  is  gonor- 
rhoea, or  clap,  as  it  often  is  called  by  men.  How 
common  it  is  may  be  judged  by  a  statement  made 
by  a  professor  to  his  class  in  the  medical  college 
that  at  least  eighty  per  cent,  of  the  men  in  the 
world  have  contracted  it  sometime  during  their 
lives.  Even  the  most  conservative  give  the  esti- 
mate as  sixty  per  cent. 

The  prevalent  idea  common  among  men  that 
it  is  no  worse  than  a  cold  —  a  mere  annoyance  that 


THE  BLACK  PLAGUES 

all  men  must  expect  and  endure  sometime  —  is 
lamentable.  The  persistence  of  the  disease  In  the 
deeper  structures  long  after  It  outwardly  Is  cured 
leads  to  unexpected  communication  of  It  to  women, 
among  whom  may  be  the  young  wife.  As  a  re- 
sult she  enters  upon  a  period  of  ill-health  that 
ultimately  may  compel  the  mutilation  of  her  body 
by  a  surgical  operation  to  save  her  life.  Much  of 
the  surgery  performed  upon  the  female  organs  has 
been  rendered  necessary  by  disease  contracted  from 
the  husband. 

A  few  little  germs  of  this  disease  left  on  even 
the  external  organs  may  find  their  way  up  through 
the  vagina  to  the  uterus  or  womb.  Here  they  may 
produce  an  Inflammation  of  the  lining  of  the  womb, 
causing  severe  pain  and  other  symptoms,  such  as 
profuse  discharge.  The  germs  may  go  farther, 
or  the  Inflammation  may  extend  from  the  uterus  to 
the  tubes.  When  we  consider  that  the  passage 
through  the  tubes  Is  only  about  as  large  as  a 
broom  straw,  we  see  what  serious  trouble  may  re- 
sult. The  tubes  become  enlarged  and  filled  with 
pus.  The  opening  from  the  tubes  to  the  uterus 
becomes  closed,  so  there  Is  no  way  for  the  pus  to 
escape.     The  accumulation  of  pus  or  the  products 

57 


HERSELF 

of  septic  inflammation  stretch  the  walls  of  the 
tubes  until  the  little  nerves  in  the  walls  cry  out  in 
rebellion.  The  pain  becomes  so  great  and  the  re- 
flex symptoms  are  so  aggravated  that  finally  the 
woman  resorts  to  the  only  relief, —  an  operation 
for  the  removal  of  the  tubes. 

When  we  consider  that  the  ovule,  the  human 
egg,  must  travel  through  these  tubes  to  reach  the 
uterus  and,  if  they  are  destroyed,  has  no  other  way 
of  reaching  the  womb  and,  if  it  cannot  reach  the 
womb  and  be  impregnated,  cannot  develop  into 
the  babe,  then  we  realize  how  this  disease  is 
dooming  women  to  childless  lives, —  women  whose 
natural  instincts  and  desires  cry  out  for  mother- 
hood. When  we  consider  the  factors  that  pro- 
mote race  suicide  we  must  not  forget  this  impor- 
tant one.  Even  though  the  woman  refuses  an 
operation,  or  in  a  case  in  which  the  inflammation 
is  not  so  severe  and  is  reduced  until  she  is  nearly 
free  from  pain,  the  result  may  be  the  same,  for  the 
tubes  may  remain  closed  permanently. 

The  closure  of  the  tubes  is  not  the  only  result 
that  may  follow  the  course  of  this  disease.  The 
infection  may  extend  into  the  peritoneal  cavity 
causing  peritonitis,  which  so  often  results  in  the 

58 


THE  BLACK  PLAGUES 

untimely  death  of  the  woman.  Here  let  me  say 
that  not  all  cases  of  peritonitis  or  of  inflammation 
of  the  womb,  tubes  or  ovaries  are  due  to  this  in- 
fection. There  are  other  infections,  other  germs, 
that  may  produce  similar  results.  These  germs 
may  reach  the  organs  in  various  ways.  Some- 
times the  woman  herself  is  to  blame  and  some- 
times we  can  blame  no  one.  Inflammation  of 
these  organs  may  result  from  pressure  of  clothing, 
colds,  excitement,  overwork,  pregnancies,  excesses 
or  neglect.  The  inflammation  may  spread  to 
these  organs  from  an  inflamed  appendix  or  other 
neighboring  organs. 

Supposing,  though,  following  this  disease  the 
tubes  are  not  entirely  closed  and  the  woman  be- 
comes pregnant.  There  is  still  the  danger  that 
during  labor  the  baby's  eyes  will  become  infected 
and  may  become  permanently  blind.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  seventy  per  cent,  of  the  blindness  in 
the  world  has  this  cause.  How  does  this  produce 
blindness?  Some  few  germs  of  this  disease  have 
remained  in  the  vagina  or  birth  canal  and  as  the 
baby  passes  along  the  canal  they  enter  its  eyes. 
They  are  so  very  strong  and  work  so  rapidly  that 
they  can  cause  total  blindness  within  three  days. 

59 


HERSELF 

This  fact  is  so  well  known  by  physicians  that  at 
the  present  time  all  reliable  physicians  pay  especial 
attention  to  the  newborn  baby's  eyes,  cleansing 
them  with  an  antiseptic  solution  immediately  after 
birth.  This  precaution  doubtless  has  saved  the 
eyes  of  thousands  of  babies.  This  is  one  of  the 
reasons  why  it  is  dangerous  to  employ  an  unedu- 
cated person  at  the  time  of  labor.  Even  though 
she  may  have  assisted  at  hundreds  of  births  yet 
often  she  is  ignorant  of  the  many  dangers  and  of 
the  precautions  that  should  be  taken  in  every  case. 

Even  adults  may  become  blind  from  this  infec- 
tion. The  disease  is  carried  to  the  eyes  by  polluted 
fingers  or  towels.  In  a  few  hours  the  eyes  be- 
come inflamed,  pus  forms,  and  unless  heroic 
measures  are  taken,  the  eyesight  is  soon  destroyed. 

In  female  children  the  vagina  may  become  in- 
fected through  the  use  of  tainted  sponges,  wash 
cloths,  etc.  An  innocent  girl  may  thus  carelessly 
acquire  the  disease.  For  this  reason,  we  see  how 
necessary  it  is  to  caution  girls  never  to  use  public 
towels  or  wash  cloths  that  have  been  used  by  an- 
other person.  Even  in  the  home,  every  member 
of  the  family  should  have  his  exclusive  towel  and 
wash  cloth. 

60 


THE  BLACK  PLAGUES 

The  symptoms  of  gonorrhoea  that  often  arc 
noted  first  are  a  profuse  discharge  from  the  vagina, 
usually  creamy  or  yellowish  in  color.  This  dis- 
charge is  of  such  a  nature  that  frequently  it  ex- 
coriates the  external  parts  so  that  they  become 
very  tender  and  inflamed.  Backache,  especially 
across  the  hips,  Is  a  common  accompaniment  of 
this  disease.  There  may  be  general  soreness  in 
the  pelvic  region.  If  a  woman  suspects  she  has 
contracted  this  disease,  she  should  go  immediately 
to  some  reliable  physician;  for  at  first  the  disease 
may  affect  only  the  vagina  but,  if  neglected,  may 
extend  to  the  uterus  and  tubes.  In  its  early  stages 
it  may  be  cured  by  prompt  treatment,  but  the 
majority  of  women  postpone  treatment  until  it  Is 
too  late. 

The  other  loathsome  disease,  syphilis.  Infects 
the  blood  and  therefore  all  parts  of  the  body. 
"While  under  proper  treatment  it  is  not  dangerous 
to  life  in  the  earlier  years,  yet  the  possibilities 
of  conveying  the  contagion  are  numerous.  In  :he 
second  stage,  which  lasts  for  a  number  of  weeks, 
the  mucous  patches  in  the  mouth  are  a  source  of 
danger.  In  this  stage  the  disease  may  be  con- 
veyed by  a  kiss  or  through  the  medium  of  the 

6i 


HERSELF 

public  drinking  cup,  towel,  or  anything  that  comes 
in  contact  with  the  virus.  It  may  be  contracted 
by  a  babe  from  a  wet-nurse  or  the  nurse  may  con- 
tract it  from  the  babe. 

The  most  serious  results  of  this  disease  appear 
years  after  its  initial  appearance,  when  the  indi- 
vidual has  been  lulled  into  a  false  sense  of  security 
by  long  freedom  from  its  outward  symptoms. 
Many  of  the  obscure  cases  of  stomach  or  nerve 
trouble  may  be  traced  to  this  disease.  The  re- 
sults not  only  affect  the  man,  but,  should  he  marry 
and  have  children,  his  innocent  babes  may  come 
into  the  world  with  an  Inherited  taint.  These 
children  seldom  live  to  reach  adult  life  and  their 
lives  usually  are  burdensome  and  full  of  misery. 
They  may  be  deformed  or  be  continually  afflicted 
with  ulcers  or  other  horrible  manifestations  of  the 
disease.  I  will  explain  this  more  thoroughly  when 
I  speak  of  heredity. 

Many  of  the  disastrous  effects  of  these  diseases 
might  have  been  prevented  if  they  had  been 
properly  treated  In  their  early  stages.  Ignorance 
as  to  the  nature  and  probable  disastrous  effects,  if 
neglected,  prevents  many  a  person  from  procuring 
proper  treatment.     It  is  a  common  practice  among 

62 


THE  BLACK  PLAGUES 

men  afFiIcted  with  these  diseases  to  try  various 
remedies  recommended  by  their  friends  or  by  the 
druggist.  It  Is  strange  that  a  person  who  would 
not  think  of  trying  to  treat  himself  for  smallpox 
or  other  contagious  disease  will  do  so  with  thes« 
diseases.  With  women,  the  cause  of  their  neglect 
is  a  failure  to  realize  the  Importance  of  the  symp- 
toms. Unfortunately  women  have  grown  to 
think  that  various  female  ills  are  their  lot  In  life 
which  must  be  endured  and  regarded  as  a  dispensa- 
tion of  Providence  instead  of  being  ^considered  an 
error  in  living  that  must  be  corrected  the  same  as 
any  other  disease.  Some  commence  treatment  but 
neglect  It  as  soon  as  the  noticeable  symptoms  have 
disappeared.  It  generally  is  considered  among 
physicians  that  the  treatment  of  syphilis  should  be 
continued  for  at  least  three  years  after  contracting 
the  disease  in  order  to  remove  all  traces  from 
the  blood. 

It  is  a  deplorable  fact  that  the  prevalence  of 
these  diseases  might  have  been  prevented  by 
proper  instruction  of  young  boys.  No  man  ever 
willfully  contracted  one  of  these  diseases.  Statis- 
tics tell  us  that  the  majority  of  victims  contract 
them  before  their  twentieth  year,  before  the  boy 

63 


HERSELF 

has  learned  anything  of  their  dangers  or  perhaps 
of  their  existence.  If  these  patients  received  the 
right  treatment  immediately  and  continued  it  until 
the  disease  had  been  eradicated  the  results  would 
have  been  less  serious.  Here,  too,  lack  of  early 
and  proper  instruction  is  shown;  for  these  imma- 
ture boys  do  not  realize  the  necessity  for  prompt 
and  wise  treatment,  or  are  misled  by  unscrupulous 
persons.  I  shall  talk  to  you  again  on  this  subject, 
for  many  of  you  will  have  sons  and  you  must 
know  the  dangers  that  beset  them,  so  they  can  be 
prepared. 


64 


CHAPTER  VI 

FAKE    MEDICAL   ADVICE    FOR   WOMEN 

One  young  lady  wrote  me,  "  Recently  1  lead 
that  imperfectly  developed  ovaries  might  be  a 
reason  why  some  women  do  not  have  children.  I 
have  the  symptoms  which  the  article  said  indicated 
imperfect  development.  Does  this  necessarily 
mean  that  I  never  can  have  a  baby?  I  seem  to 
be  healthy.  I  am  twenty-one  years  old.  I  was 
to  have  been  married  In  three  months  but  now  I  do 
not  know  what  to  do.  *  My  boy  '  loves  children 
as  I  do.  It  seems  as  though  I  cannot  give  bim 
up,  yet  it  surely  is  not  honorable  to  marry  him  if 
I  find  that  I  never  will  have  a  little  one,  without 
telling  him.     Please  tell  me  what  to  do." 

The  probabilities  are  that  this  girl's  ovaries  arc 
perfectly  normal  and  that  the  article  mentioned 
was  an  advertisement  of  some  medical  house 
which,  by  misleading  statements,  endeavors  to  in- 
duce women  to  take  their  treatment.     There  are 

65 


HERSELF 

many  women  who  suffer  a  great  deal  mentally,  and 
this  in  turn  reflects  on  their  physical  health  because 
of  just  such  articles. 

It  has  been  said  that  we  are  a  nation  of  dupes 
and  the  advertisements  carried  in  some  of  the 
papers  would  indicate  the  truth  of  this  statement. 
No  manufacturer  is  going  to  advertise  anything 
that  does  not  sell  well  and  bring  a  considerable 
profit.  Men  are  not  so  altruistic  as  to  be  in  busi- 
ness just  for  the  good  of  humanity.  The  majority 
are  in  business  for  the  money  to  be  obtained  from 
it.  Somehow,  women  are  very  susceptible  to  the 
arts  of  these  greedy  manufacturers.  A  company 
commences  to  make  a  patent  medicine  and  then,  in 
order  to  derive  any  profits  from  the  investment, 
large  quantities  of  the  preparation  must  be  sold. 
In  order  to  accomplish  this  they  must  convince  pos- 
sible buyers  of  their  need  of  this  particular  treat- 
ment. The  company  employs  an  agent  to  write 
an  advertisement,  perhaps  in  the  shape  of  an  arti- 
cle purporting  to  be  written  by  someone  much  in- 
terested in  the  human  race.  This  advertisement 
or  article  describes  some  disease  which  may  be 
cured  by  this  one  remedy.  As  there  might  not  be 
enough  people  who  know  they  have  this  given  dis- 

66 


FAKE  MEDICAL  ADVICE 

ease  to  make  a  profit  for  the  manufacturer,  it 
becomes  his  business  to  convince  others  that  they 
have  this  disease.  Therefore,  he  proceeds  to 
enumerate  a  great  many  symptoms  which  he  says 
indicate  this  disease.  Perhaps  they  might!  But 
they  are  just  as  hkely  to  indicate  any  one  of  half 
a  dozen  other  things.  He  details  enough  symp- 
toms so  that  some  are  recognized  by  nearly  every 
woman  as  relating  to  her  condition,  so  she  jumps 
to  the  conclusion  that  she  has  that  certain  disease 
and  buys  a  bottle  of  the  medicine. 

If  you  will  study  the  large  medical  advertise- 
ments that  appeal  especially  to  women  you  will 
notice  that  they  all  have  certain  symptoms 
enumerated.  No  matter  if  the  remedy  advertised 
is  for  the  kidneys,  the  bowels,  or  exclusively  for 
women,  the  same  symptoms  are  claimed  to  indicate 
the  need  of  that  certain  remedy.  One  of  the 
symptoms  most  commonly  given  is  backache.  Of 
course !  For  nearly  every  person  has  a  backache 
at  some  time.  It  may  be  due  to  a  strain,  to  rheu- 
matism of  the  lumbar  muscles  (lumbago),  to  con- 
stipation, to  a  displacement,  or  to  numerous  other 
conditions.  No  one  can  tell  the  cause  who  is  not 
properly  prepared  to  do  so  and  who  is  not  fully 

67 


HERSELF 

acquainted  with  the  physical  condition.  The  sew- 
ing machine  runs  hard  and  perhaps  makes  a  noise. 
It  requires  a  mechanic  who  is  famihar  with  the 
mechanism  of  the  machine  to  find  the  cause  of  the 
trouble.  So  it  is  with  the  human  body.  It  re- 
quires a  mechanic  who  is  familiar  with  the  struc- 
ture of  the  body  to  discover  the  cause  of  the  trou- 
ble. And  yet  people  will  continue  to  pour  into 
their  bodies  drugs,  harmless  and  otherwise,  that 
are  manufactured  by  some  enterprising  firm  and 
then  advertised  by  an  expert  who  knows  nothing 
of  disease  except  a  few  symptoms  common  to  al- 
most all  diseases. 

The  patent  medicine  consumers  seldom  realize 
the  nature  of  the  medicine  they  take.  Because 
some  man,  desirous  of  selling  his  remedy,  claims 
it  will  be  beneficial,  they  rush  in  and  buy.  To 
one  who  knows  the  true  nature  of  some  of  these 
remedies,  many  laughable  instances  arc  visible. 
One  man  recently  discovered  that  a  temperance 
agitator  was  daily  dosing  herself  with  a  certain 
tonic  which  was  known  to  contain  a  larger  per- 
centage of  alcohol  than  did  the  beverages  she  was 
denouncing  so  ardently. 

Patent  medicines  may  benefit  some,  but  in  the 

68 


FAKE  MEDICAL  ADVICE 

majority  of  cases,  the  consumer  is  like  a  man  who 
boards  the  nearest  street-car  hoping  it  will  take 
him  to  his  destination.  It  may!  But  it  is  just 
as  likely  to  take  him  in  the  opposite  direction. 

Some  people  become  veritable  drug  fiends, 
slaves  to  certain  drugs  without  in  the  least  realiz- 
ing their  condition.  How  many  are  slaves  to  cer- 
tain laxatives  or  headache  powders  I  With  them 
the  daily  dose  of  "  harmless  "  teas  or  waters  or 
even  of  pills  cannot  be  neglected.  And  yet  such 
a  person  would  be  indignant  at  the  suggestion  that 
she  was  the  victim  of  a  drug  habit.  What  arc 
drugs,  anyhow?  The  majority  are  simply  ex- 
tracts of  herbs  and  vegetables.  And  yet  people 
imagine  that  they  are  avoiding  the  use  of  drugs 
and  medicines  when  they  take  "  simple  herb 
remedies,  prepared  at  home." 

Another  lure  of  the  advertiser  is  to  state  that  all 
letters  are  "  strictly  confidential  and  answered  by 
women  only."  Perhaps  they  are!  But  he  neg- 
lects to  add  that  the  women  who  answer  these 
letters  are  simply  stenographers  with  no  medical 
knowledge,  employed  to  write  according  to  dicta- 
tion, that  the  letters  are  all  written  according  to 
certain   forms  which  have   been   dictated  by  the 

69 


HERSELF 

manager.  A  short  time  ago  a  young  woman 
wrote  me  regarding  her  condition.  Among  other 
things,  she  said  she  had  written  to  a  certain  woman 
whose  name  is  much  advertised  by  a  patent  medi- 
cine concern  and  that  this  woman  had  written  her 
advice  that  had  caused  her  to  worry  over  her  con- 
dition. Poor,  deluded  girl  1  How  was  she  to 
know  that  the  woman  in  question  had  been  dead 
many  years  and  that  the  business  was  carried  on 
by  her  son  and  other  men. 

If  you  are  ill  do  not  be  misled  by  these  un- 
scrupulous advertisers.  Do  not  waste  your  time 
and  money  on  remedies  that  may  be  entirely  un- 
suited  to  vour  condition. 


70 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE    MARRIAGE    RELATION 

As  several  of  you  expect  to  be  married  soon  I 
think  it  would  be  well  to  talk  briefly  about  the 
cause  of  so  much  unhappiness  in  marriage. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  only  about  five  per 
cent,  of  all  marriages  are  successful.  Is  this  true, 
and  if  true,  why?  If  five  per  cent,  made  a  suc- 
cess of  marriage,  why  could  not  the  other  ninety- 
five  ?  Marriage  is  a  science  to  be  studied  by  the 
prospective  biide  and  groom  in  order  that  they 
may  be  ranked  with  the  five  per  cent,  and  not  make 
a  failure  of  their  married  life.  Few  would  enter 
the  marriage  relation  if  convinced  that  it  would  be 
a  failure.  The  prospective  bride  looks  around 
among  her  acquaintances  and  sees  the  lack  of 
true  happiness,  thinks  that  her  case  will  be  an  ex- 
ception, that  her  marriage  will  turn  out  all  right 
and  then  goes  blindly  ahead  into  the  new  life 
without  any  preparation. 

71 


HERSELF 

A  large  percentage  of  the  unhappiness  among 
married  couples  comes  through  a  misunderstand- 
ing of  the  marital  relations.  A  great  deal  of  this 
is  due  to  ignorance  on  the  part  of  the  bride  and 
thoughtlessness  on  the  part  of  the  husband.  This 
is  partly  due  to  defective  education  during  child- 
hood in  regard  to  the  sexes.  The  training  of 
boys  and  girls  in  this  matter  is  very  different. 
Knowledge  pertaining  to  the  sexual  life  is  talked 
over  very  freely  among  boys,  so  that  by  the  time 
the  boy  is  of  a  marriageable  age  he  is  pretty  well 
posted.  With  girls  it  is  quite  different.  It  would 
be  considered  very  immodest  for  a  girl  to  discuss 
such  matters.  She  does  not  feel  free  even  to  talk 
with  her  mother  or  other  adviser,  and  so  she  goes 
to  the  altar  ignorant  of  many  thiiigs  she  should 
know.  Then  during  the  first  few  days  of  married 
life  this  knowledge  so  overwhelms  her  and  often 
gives  her  such  a  severe  shock  that  it  leaves  a  last- 
ing impression.  She  has  no  way  of  knowing  that 
her  husband  is  just  like  other  men.  She  is  liable 
to  regard  him  as  a  brute  and  resent  his  attentions. 

Such  a  condition  of  affairs  is  altogether  wrong, 
but  the  girl  is  not  to  be  blamed.  Had  she  been 
taught  what  to  expect,  much  of  the  unhappiness 

72 


THE  MARRIAGE  RELATION 

of  married  life  might  have  been  avoided.  If 
taught  correctly,  the  girl  should  regard  the  sexual 
act  as  the  culmination  of  true  love.  It  should  be 
regarded  as  something  sacred,  something  that 
makes  her  and  her  husband  as  one.  Fortunate 
indeed  is  the  girl  whose  husband  realizes  this  lack 
of  knowledge  and  gently  leads  her  to  desire  the 
fulfillment  of  love.  Unfortunate  is  the  girl  whose 
husband  regards  this  act  only  as  the  gratification 
of  animal  passions  —  something  it  is  a  wife's  duty 
to  endure  as  such. 

Passion  or  sex  sense  is  a  sign  of  maturity.  It 
is  the  calling  for  a  mate.  All  animals  have  this 
sense  and  nearly  all  animals  have  a  mating  season. 
The  billing  and  cooing  of  the  birds  in  the  spring- 
time is  an  expression  of  this  sense  —  the  love 
sense.  It  is  possessed  by  every  little  insect.  Only 
by  knowing  their  habits  do  we  see  the  expression 
of  it.  This  sense  is  nothing  of  which  one  should 
be  ashamed.  It  was  God-given  for  a  divine  pur- 
pose. 

In  the  study  of  plants  we  learn  that  the  pollen 
or  male  element  must  unite  with  the  ovum  or  fe- 
male element  in  order  to  produce  the  seed  that 
will  develop  into  the  new  plant.     The  same  fact 

73 


HERSELF 

is  true  of  the  human  race.  Before  pregnancy  can 
take  place  there  must  be  a  meeting  and  fusion  of 
the  vital  elements  of  the  two  sexes.  This  fer- 
tilization of  the  ovum  or  joining  of  the  male  and 
female  elements  Is  called  conception.  It  Is 
brought  about  by  coitus,  by  means  of  which  the 
semen  of  the  male  is  deposited  in  the  vagina  of 
the  female.  This  act  is  called  Insemination,  al- 
though conception  does  not  follow  unless  the 
ovum  and  spermatozoon  (life-giving  element  of 
the  semen)  come  together  and  unite.  When 
this  occurs  the  woman  conceives  and  enters  upon 
a  period  of  pregnancy.  The  time  at  which  con- 
ception is  least  likely  to  occur  is  from  the  seven- 
teenth to  the  twenty-third  day  after  menstruation 
ceases. 

During  the  first  year  of  married  life  couples  arc 
liable  to  abuse  the  love  sense  by  over-indulgence 
and  thereby  use  up  too  much  of  their  energy. 
This  affects  their  health,  especially  that  of  the 
young  wife,  who  finds  herself  always  being  tired 
and  is  unable  to  account  for  it.  Her  daily  tasks 
become  a  drudgery,  for  she  Is  too  exhausted  to 
have  the  strength  to  perform  them.  After  the 
tasks  finally  are  finished,  she  is  too  tired  to  don 

74 


THE    MARRIAGE    RELAIION 

the  afternoon  dress,  and  so  easily  falls  into  un- 
tidy habits.  This  brings  its  train  of  results.  The 
young  husband,  on  his  return  from  work,  fails  to 
f^nd  his  wife  the  bright,  attractive  girl  he  married 
and  gradually  grows  indifferent. 

The  relation  of  intercourse  to  conception  Is  a 
problem  that  each  husband  and  wife  must  settle 
for  themselves.  Some  educators  claim  that  only 
for  the  one  is  the  other  allowable,  that  the  bear- 
ing and  raising  of  children  is  the  sole  aim  of 
married  life.  Naturally  this  Is  the  fundamental 
end  of  the  sex  Instinct.  But  In  the  present-day, 
practical  married  life  it  would  be  impossible  to 
convince  the  majority  that  the  impulse  of  sex  grat- 
ification was  given  to  them  for  this  one  purpose 
only. 

The  sense  of  well  being  and  the  increased 
capacity  for  work,  that  follows  a  moderate  exercise 
of  this  function,  tends  to  convince  us  that  it  has  a 
beneficial  effect  upon  the  entire  system  if  exercised 
moderately.  As  to  what  constitutes  moderation  or 
temperance  depends  upon  the  indivldnal.  What 
would  be  moderation  to  some  would  j  excess  to 
others.  It  may  be  taken  as  a  general  rule  that  the 
after-effects  will  indicate  the  amount.    If  the  after- 

75 


HERSELF 

effects  are  irritability,  extreme  lassitude  or  a  dim- 
inution of  the  love  or  respect  for  the  other  then 
there  has  been  excess.  If  the  after-effect  is  a 
sense  of  well-being  so  that  the  next  day  one  fteis 
more  inclined  to  take  up  the  duties  of  life,  then 
it  may  be  considered  that  moderation  has  been 
practiced.  A  certain  amount  of  energy  is  con- 
sumed in  any  act  and,  as  in  our  present  age  we 
need  a  great  deal  of  energy  to  carry  on  our 
everyday  business,  in  the  majority  of  cases  fresh 
vitality  cannot  be  spared  for  an  expenditure  un- 
der several  days  or  a  week.  Excess  in  anything 
tends  to  bring  on  premature  old  age,  for  the 
nervous  force  is  expended  faster  than  it  is  manu- 
factured. 

Frequently  women  seem  to  be  endowed  with  an 
excess  of  energy  which  manifests  itself  in  various 
forms.  Besides  this,  the  woman  does  not  seem 
to  have  control  of  her  nervous  energy  but  wastes 
it  in  numerous  ways.  With  many  a  woman  the 
regularity  and  moderation  attendant  on  a  happy 
married  life  seems  to  have  a  regulating  effect  upon 
her  whole  nervous  system,  so  that  she  becomes 
more  calm  and  has  greater  control  over  her 
energies. 

76 


THE  MARRIAGE  RELATION 

Wrong  training  or  lack  of  training  in  matters 
pertaining  to  the  relationship  of  the  sexes  and  to 
the  management  of  a  home  may  be  given  as  the 
cause  of  the  majority  of  unhappy  marriages. 

There  must  be  something  wrong  with  our  sys- 
tem of  education  when  the  aim  of  this  education 
seems  to  be  to  prepare  the  girl  for  a  temporary 
position  in  an  office  or  store  or  for  a  gay  social 
life;  and  when  there  is  no  preparation  for  the 
important  work  of  home-making  and  the  rearing 
of  children.  A  girl  would  not  be  expected  to  run 
a  complicated  and  delicate  piece  of  machinery 
without  having  adequate  instruction  concerning 
the  necessary  care  of  it.  But  the  girl  is  allowed 
to  go  blindly  into  marriage  and  is  expected  to 
manage  her  home  and  care  for  her  children  with 
practically  no  preparation.  Nowadays  we  re- 
quire experts  for  every  position  except  that  of 
motherhood,  but  we  apparently  do  not  consider 
that  of  enough  importance  to  waste  any  time  pre 
paring  for  It.  A  man  requires  his  gardener  or 
office  assistant  to  be  trained,  but  the  mother  of 
his  children  need  know  nothing  regarding  the 
preparation  for  their  coming.  Too  often  her 
only    preparation    is    that    of    making    numerous 

77 


HERSELF 

clothes.     She  takes  no  measures  to  insure  a  healthy 
child. 

If  girls  would  make  a  study  of  home-making 
and  motherhood  and  enter  into  marriage  with  a 
more  definite  realization  of  its  obligations  we 
would  have  fewer  unhappy  marriages  and  fewer 
divorce  cases.  Some  women,  owing  to  false  edu- 
cation, wish  to  have  all  the  advantages  of  mar- 
riage without  assuming  its  cares.  Such  a  woman 
expects  a  man  to  be  willing  to  provide  her  with 
all  the  gifts  of  the  gods,  with  all  the  luxuries  of 
life,  but  in  return  is  not  willing  to  become  the 
mother  of  his  children  nor  to  exert  herself  to  make 
their  mutual  habitation  a  home  and  not  merely 
a  house  —  a  place  in  which  to  eat  and  sleep. 

A  large  part  of  the  average  woman's  life  is  de- 
voted to  home-making  and  the  rearing  of  chil- 
dren. Usually  she  is  poorly  prepared  for  this 
work.  The  early  years  of  a  girl's  life  arc  spent 
in  the  acquisition  of  a  store  of  general  knowledge, 
especially  that  derived  from  books  and  related  to 
subjects  generally  considered  necessary  to  "  cul- 
ture." During  this  period,  her  time  is  so  occu- 
pied with  her  studies  that  her  mother  thinks  it 
would   be   an    imposition    to   ask   her   to   do   any 

78 


THE  MARRIAGE  RELATION 

housework,  so  the  girl  grows  up  without  much 
knowledge  of  the  care  of  a  home.  True,  she 
often  is  enabled  to  do  a  few  things.  She  learns 
to  make  cake  and  several  varieties  of  candy  and 
perhaps  can  fashion  a  collar  that  Is  the  envy  of 
her  schoolmates.  Sometimes  she  even  helps  her 
mother  with  the  dishes  or  the  dusting,  but  It  Is 
easier  for  the  mother  to  take  the  responsibility  of 
the  housekeeping  than  It  Is  to  teach  her  daughter 
to  do  so,  and  besides  her  daughter  always  is  so 
busy  with  school  aftalrs.  She  has  no  time  In 
which  to  learn  the  science  of  housekeeping. 

After  the  completion  of  her  course  In  the  com- 
mon or  high  school,  a  few  months,  sometimes,  are 
devoted  to  the  preparation  for  a  certain  line  of 
work  which  Is  to  occupy  her  time  for  a  few  years. 
Very  few  girls,  except  those  who  enter  the  pro- 
fessions, expect  to  continue  their  work  after  mar- 
riage and  nearly  all  look  forward  to  marriage. 
If  we  place  a  girl  at  a  new  occupation,  for  instance 
lacc-maklng,  and  let  her  work  out  her  own  salva- 
tion, we  would  not  be  surprised  If  she  disliked 
her  work  and  was  unable  to  accomplish  any  good 
results.  But  that  is  what  we  do  in  regard  to 
home-making.     A  girl  upon  marriage  Is  expected 

79 


HERSELF 

to  know  by  instinct  how  to  keep  house,  cook,  and 
do  the  numerous  other  household  duties;  she  is 
expected  to  know  how  to  care  for  herself  before 
the  birth  of  her  baby  and  how  to  care  for  the 
baby  when  it  comes.  Fortunately  for  the  future 
generation  this  fact  has  come  to  the  realization 
of  many  of  our  educators.  During  the  last  few 
years  many  schools  have  introduced  into  their  cur- 
riculum, courses  in  domestic  science,  including  the 
purchasing,  preparation  and  serving  of  food. 
Very  recently  some  of  the  more  progressiva 
schools  have  introduced  courses  in  nursing  and 
the  care  of  young  babies.  Perhaps  in  a  few 
years  motherhood  will  take  its  proper  place  as  the 
most  important  of  all  sciences. 


80 


CHAPTER  VIII 

EMBRYOLOGY THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  LIFE 

You  remember  I  mentioned  that  at  various 
times  during  the  month  an  ovum  or  egg  leaves 
the  ovary  and  passes  along  the  tube  to  the 
uterus.  Here  it  remains  if  it  is  impregnated  or 
fertilized  by  a  union  with  the  spermatozoon  or 
male  element.  The  whole  body  of  the  babe  is 
developed  from  the  ovum  or  female  element  after 
it  has  been  fertilized  by  the  spermatozoon  or 
male  element.  The  union  usually  talces  place  in 
the  tube.  The  spermatozoon,  after  being  de- 
posited in  the  vagina,  travels  to  the  mouth  of  the 
womb,  then  up  through  the  womb  into  one  of  the 
tubes.  Here  it  meets  the  ovum  and  unites  with  it, 
then  the  impregnated  ovum  continues  on  its  way  to 
the  uterus.  It  attaches  itself  to  the  lining  of  the 
womb  by  little  thread-like  filaments  which  it  pro- 
jects. The  ovum  then  begins  to  grow,  dividing 
itself  into  portions  that  go  to  make  the  different 

8i 


HERSELF 

parts  of  the  body.  Before  I  continue,  let  me  re- 
mind you  that  the  ovum  in  the  beginning  is  only 
about  as  large  as  the  point  of  a  pin,  being  about 
1-125  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  while  the  sperma- 
tozoon is  so  tiny  it  cannot  be  seen  without  the 
aid  of  a  miscroscopc.  Therefore,  it  can  be  real- 
ized how  much  the  ovum  has  to  grow  before  it 
becomes  a  fully  formed  babe. 

During  the  time  the  ovum  is  developing  into 
the  babe  we  speak  of  it  first  as  the  embryo,  then 
the  foetus.  It  takes  about  nine  calendar  months 
or  ten  lunar  months  before  the  foetus  is  fully  de- 
veloped and  ready  to  be  expelled  from  the  womb. 
During  the  process  of  development  the  foetus  re- 
sembles various  animals.  It  seems  it  must  pass 
through  about  the  same  stages  of  evolution  that 
our  primitive  ancestors  did. 

By  the  end  of  the  third  week,  the  dividing  has 
progressed  so  far  that  the  body  is  quite  well  in- 
dicated. By  the  end  of  the  seventh  week  the 
body  and  limbs  are  quite  well  defined.  One  pe- 
culiar thing  is  that,  at  this  time,  the  foetus  has 
a  tail  which  disappears  during  the  next  two  weeks. 
During  the  third  month  the  foetus  increases  in 
size  and  weight  so  that  by  the  end  of  the  month 

82 


EMBRYOLOGY 

the  weight  is  four  ounces  and  the  length  two  and 
three-fourths  Inches.  It  now  Is  not  directly  at- 
tached to  the  lining  of  the  womb  but  Is  attached 
by  means  of  the  cord  to  the  placenta  or  after- 
birth which  has  been  forming  slowly.  This 
placenta  consists  of  fatty  tissue  surrounding  a 
great  many  little  blood  vessels.  The  tiny  blood 
vessels  lie  so  close  to  the  blood  vessels  of  the  lin- 
ing of  the  womb  that  the  blood  passes  from  one 
to  the  other.  To  do  this,  it  must  pass  through 
the  walls  of  the  blood  vessels,  as  the  vessels  of 
the  mother  and  those  of  the  placenta  are  not  di- 
rectly united.  The  blood  vessels  of  the  placenta 
unite  to  form  two  veins  and  one  artery  which  lie 
very  close  to  each  other  and  are  surrounded  by 
a  membrane.  These  three  blood  vessels  united 
together  form  what  we  call  the  cord.  The  other 
end  of  the  cord  Is  attached  to  the  fcetus  so  that 
the  blood  can  flow  back  and  forth  between  the 
foetus  and  placenta. 

By  the  end  of  the  third  month  the  hmbs  have 
definite  shape,  the  nails  being  almost  perfectly 
formed.  During  the  next  month  the  sexual  dis- 
tinctions of  the  external  organs  become  well 
marked. 

83 


HERSELF 

By  the  last  of  the  fifth  month  the  weight  has 
increased  to  one  pound  and  the  length  to  eight 
inches.  Active  foetal  movements  begin,  that  is, 
the  foetus  begins  to  move  around  and  not  lie 
quietly  as  before.  This  is  what  is  usually  spoken 
of  as  "  feeling  life,"  or  as  "  quickening."  There 
is  life  from  the  very  beginning  but  during  the 
first  four  or  five  months  the  foetus  does  not  move 
about  and  so  the  mother  does  not  "  feel  life." 
This  has  caused  the  erroneous  idea  that  there  is 
no  life  before  the  fifth  month. 

By  the  end  of  the  sixth  month  the  weight  is 
two  pounds  and  the  length  twelve  inches.  The 
eyebrows  and  eyelashes  have  begun  to  grow  and 
the  lobule  of  the  ear  is  more  characteristic. 

By  the  end  of  the  seventh  month  the  weight  is 
three  pounds  and  the  length  fourteen  inches. 
The  surface  of  the  body,  which  has  appeared 
wrinkled,  now  appears  more  smooth  owing  to  the 
increase  of  fat  underneath. 

By  the  end  of  the  eighth  month  the  weight  is 
four  to  five  pounds  and  the  length  twenty  inches. 
The  nails  have  grown  to  project  beyond  the  finger 
tips.  Up  to  this  time  the  body  has  been  covered 
with    a   fine   hair   called   lanugo.     This   now   has 

84 


EMBRYOLOGY 

begun  to  disappear  and  the  skin  becomes  brighter 
and  is  covered  with  a  white,  cheesy  material 
called  the  vernix  caseosa.  This  almost  entirely 
disappears  during  the  next  month,  but  frequently 
there  are  portions  of  it  remaining  on  the  boJy  at 
the  time  of  birth.  The  foetus  is  fully  developed 
by  the  end  of  the  ninth  month.  Then  its  average 
weight  is  six  or  seven  pounds  and  the  length 
twenty  inches. 

If  we  could  look  into  the  womb  just  before  the 
time  of  labor  we  would  find  the  foetus  attached 
by  the  cord  to  the  placenta  and  floating  in  a  sac 
of  water.  This  sac  is  formed  partly  of  the  pla- 
centa and  partly  of  the  membrane ;  the  side  of  the 
placenta  opposite  to  the  child  being  attached  to 
the  womb.  Just  before  labor  the  child  takes  a 
position  with  its  head  downward,  its  lower  limbs 
flexed  and  its  arms  folded  upon  its  breast.  This 
allows  it  to  come  in  the  usual  way,  head  first. 
But  sometimes,  for  various  reasons,  it  does  not 
take  this  position  and  some  part  other  than  the 
head,  for  instance,  the  feet,  may  be  born  first. 

Labor  pains  are  caused  by  the  contraction  of 
the  muscles  of  the  womb  in  an  effort  to  exoell  the 
foetus.     The  muscles,  contracting,  push  the  foetus 

85 


HERSELF 

downward  to  the  mouth  of  the  womb  but  push 
ahead  of  it  a  portion  of  the  membrane  enclosing 
some  of  the  water.  This  is  called  the  "  bag  of 
waters."  As  it  presses  against  the  mouth  of  the 
worrb  it  causes  it  to  dilate  so  as  to  allow  the 
foetus  to  pass  through  into  the  vagina.  The 
foetus,  preceded  by  the  bag  of  waters,  then 
descends  through  the  vagina  or  birth  canal  until 
it  comes  to  the  external  opening  of  the  vagina. 
This  it  must  dilate  before  it  can  pass  through  it. 
The  bag  of  waters  should  rupture  normally  while 
it  is  being  pushed  through  the  external  opening. 
Sometimes  the  bag  does  not  rupture  directly  in. 
front  of  the  descending  head  but  further  up  along 
the  side.  Then  a  portion  of  the  membrane  may 
be  over  the  face  of  the  child  when  it  is  born.  This 
is  what  is  called  being  "  born  with  a  veil  "  or 
"  born  with  a  caul." 

The  bag  of  waters  helps  dilate  the  parts  much 
easier  than  the  foetus  could  do  it  alone.  When 
the  bag  breaks  the  water  lubricates  the  parts  so 
as  to  make  the  passage  of  the  child  easier.  When 
It  breaks,  as  It  sometimes  does,  at  the  beginning 
of  labor  we  have  what  is  termed  a  "  dry  labor." 
This    usually    is    much    slower   than    it   would   be 

86 


EMBRYOLOGY 

otherwise.  The  majority  of  the  cases  of  labor 
extend  over  a  period  of  from  twelve  to  twenty- 
four  hours. 

Sometimes  the  external  opening  of  the  vagina 
does  not  dilate  enough  to  allow  the  passage  of  the 
child.  As  the  head  presses  hard  against  the 
perineum  it  tears  it.  This  tear  should  be  re- 
paired immediately  after  completion  of  labor. 

When  the  baby  is  born  it  is  fully  formed  but 
its  lungs  have  never  contained  air.  At  the  first 
cry  the  air  rushes  into  the  lungs  and  expands 
them.  At  birth  there  is  a  change  in  the  circula- 
tion of  the  blood  of  the  baby.  Before  this  time, 
the  blood  has  passed  to  and  from  the  placenta 
through  the  cord  but  now  this  is  stopped.  Be- 
fore birth  there  was  an  opening  between  the  right 
and  left  sides  of  the  heart  but  this  closes  during 
the  first  few  days  of  the  child's  life.  To  assist 
in  this  closure,  it  is  wise  to  keep  the  child  on  its 
right  side  for  a  few  days.  Rarely,  this  opening 
never  closes  and  we  have  what  is  called  a  "  blue 
baby,"  which  seldom  lives  very  long. 

In  a  great  many  cases,  painless  childbirth  could 
be  a  possibility  by  a  little  attention  to  diet,  exer- 
cise and  other  hygienic  measures  during  the  last 

87 


HERSELF 

few  months  of  pregnancy.  Knowing  this,  it  seems 
inconceivable  that  any  woman  would  neglect  to  so 
fully  inform  herself  on  these  matters  that  both  she 
and  her  child  could  have  all  benefit  of  the  investi- 
gations of  science. 


88 


CHAPTER  IX 

ABORTIONS 

Sometimes  through  an  accident  or  on  account 
of  disease,  the  womb  expels  the  foetus  before  it  is 
fully  developed.  If  this  occurs  before  the  end  of 
the  third  month  we  call  it  an  abortion;  if  it  oc- 
curs between  the  third  and  seventh  months  we  call 
it  a  miscarriage;  while  if  it  occurs  after  the  seventh 
month  but  before  the  normal  time  of  labor  we 
call  it  a  premacurc  labor. 

Formerly  ii  was  considered  that  there  was  no 
possibility  of  the  child  living  if  it  were  born  be- 
fore the  seventh  month.  Now,  by  the  aid  of 
incubators,  even  those  born  at  five  months  have  a 
chance  to  live.  By  that  time  the  body  is  fully 
formed,  so  the  chief  requirements  are  a  steady 
temperature  and  proper  care  and  food.  Great 
care  must  be  exercised,  as  a  slight  cooling  of  the 
air  may  result  in  the  death  of  the  babe. 

Abortions    are    cither    accidental,    criminal,    or 

89 


HERSELF 

justifiable,  that  Is,  brought  on  to  preserve  the  life 
of  the  mother.  Accidental  abortions  may  fol- 
low a  sudden  fall  or  a  sudden  shock,  either  mental 
or  physical,  to  the  mother.  They  may  be  due  to 
some  disease  either  of  the  mother  or  of  the  foetus. 
Of  the  diseases  responsible  for  abortions  the  one 
with  the  largest  percentage  is  syphilis.  It  is 
estimated  that  this  disease  is  responsible  for  forty 
per  cent,  of  accidental  abortions  and  miscarriages. 
Whenever  a  physician  has  for  a  patient  a  woman 
who  gives  a  history  of  having  had  several  abor- 
tions without  any  apparent  cause  and  all  at  about 
the  same  age  of  the  foetus,  he  Immediately  be- 
comes suspicious  of  syphilis  either  of  the  father 
or  the  mother.  It  is  a  peculiar  fact  with  this  dis- 
ease that  it  may  be  transmitted  to  the  offspring 
without  the  mother  ever  actually  having  the  dis- 
ease. This  is  an  Instance  of  "  visiting  the  sins  of 
the  fathers  upon  the  children  unto  the  third  and 
fourth  generation."  Many  a  weak  frame  owes 
its  condition  to  a  dissipated  father,  grandfather 
or  even  great-grandfather.  It  is  possible,  though, 
for  a  man  or  woman  who  has  had  this  disease  to 
have  a  healthy  child  if  the  disease  has  been 
properly  treated. 

90 


ABORTIONS 

Under  some  circumstances,  especially  with  a 
deformed  pelvis,  if  pregnancy  were  allowed  to 
proceed  normally  it  probably  would  result  in  the 
death  of  the  mother.  Then,  it  is  considered  justi- 
fiable for  the  physician  in  charge  of  the  case  to 
produce  an  abortion  in  order  to  save  the  life  of 
the  mother.  Those  cases  are  rare  and  such  a  pro- 
cedure never  is  undertaken  except  in  extreme 
cases. 

Criminal  abortions  are  those  brought  on  simply 
because  the  woman  does  not  desire  to  have  a  child. 
These  often  are  produced  by  the  woman  herself 
by  means  of  drugs  that  set  up  uterine  contractions 
(labor  pains)  or  by  means  of  something  intro- 
duced into  the  uterus.  In  either  case  it  is  a 
dangerous  procedure.  Infections  may  be  car- 
ried into  the  uterus  by  means  of  whatever  is  In- 
troduced into  it.  This  may  set  up  an  Inflamma- 
tion that  may  result  in  the  death  of  the  woman. 
It  Is  a  dangerous  procedure  to  introduce  anything 
Into  the  womb.  Some  women  are  extremely 
foolish  or  reckless  and  use  anything  that  may  be 
handy.  Sometimes  grave  harm  results.  In- 
stances are  on  record  of  women  who  have  punc- 
tured the  walls  of  the  womb  by  the  use  of  hat- 

91 


HERSELF 

pins  or  other  sharp  Instruments.  If  an  abortion 
is  produced  by  either  drugs  or  instruments  there 
is  danger  that  all  the  products  of  conception 
may  not  come  away.  If  even  a  small  portion  re- 
mains in  the  uterus  it  may  cause  a  hemorrhage 
or,  becoming  decomposed,  produce  a  poison  that 
may  result  in  the  death  of  the  woman. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  estimate  the  number 
of  abortions  performed  on  unmarried  girb,  as 
well  as  married  women,  during  one  year  by  mid- 
wives,  unscrupulous  physicians  and  by  many  re- 
spected family  physicians.  We  never  hear  of 
one  of  these  except  through  the  occasional  one 
who  is  so  unfortunate  as  to  meet  death.  We  can- 
not entirely  blame  the  one  who  performs  the  abor- 
tion.  Sometimes  it  Is  performed  because  of  the 
sympathy  of  the  physician.  It  is  very  hard  to 
refuse  some  cases.  Let  me  read  you  a  letter  to 
illustrate  my  meaning. 

*'  I  have  just  finished  reading  your  article  on 
*  Woman's  Inhumanity  to  Woman  '  and  wish  to 
say  that  every  word  impresses  the  truth  as  read. 
My  reason  for  writing  you  is  because  I  am  one 
of  those  who  have  sinned  through  love,  with  one 
I  have  known  all  my  life  only  to  find  too  late  that 

92 


ABORTIONS 

he  did  not  love  me;  and  the  sin  is  killing  mc.  I 
do  not  want  to  bring  into  this  world  a  little  aiild 
to  have  no  father.  I  am  not  bad  at  heart.  My 
only  hope  is  to  get  something  that  will  bring  me 
all  right.  If  you  are  a  doctor  you  can  give  me 
medicine  that  will  help  me  miscarry  this,  as  I  have 
only  missed  two  months.  Nothing  would  please 
me  more  than  to  be  the  mother  of  a  little  one, 
but,  oh,  not  one  born  without  a  name.  Dear 
madam,  if  you  can  help  me,  or  show  me  some 
way  that  my  people  cannot  suspect  me  of  this  sin, 
for  the  love  you  bear  all  girls,  help  me.  I  am 
the  only  one  at  home  to  care  for  an  aged  father 
and  one  of  the  dearest  brothers  that  ever  lived. 
If  he  knew  I  had  sinned  as  I  have,  it  would  break 
his  heart.  My  God  in  heaven,  help  met  is  my 
prayer,  and  through  his  love  you  can  help  me. 
I  am  almost  desperate  and  before  I  will  live  and 
bear  this  sin  I  will  take  my  own  life,  which  will 
bar  me  from  heaven  and  my  angel  mother's  face. 
Be  gracious,  kind  doctor,  and  help  me.  I  will 
repay  you  if  it  takes  the  .vmainder  of  my  life  and 
give  my  solemn  promise  that  I  will  sin  no  more. 
Erring  through  the  love  of  a  man  is  my  only 
excuse  and,  oh,  I  am  the  one  to  bear  the  blame. 

93 


HERSELF 

He  would  be  forgiven.  I  am  so  nervous  and 
ruiLcd  in  mind  that  I  hardly  can  go  about  my 
duties  and  I  cannot  stand  the  strain  much  longer. 
Let  me  hear  from  you  at  once  and  please  help  me, 
for  I  know  it  can  be  done,  but  I  am  ignorant;  I 
do  not  know  what  to  get  or  what  to  do.  It  will 
be  no  sin  to  try  to  get  all  right  and  not  bear  a 
child,  but  in  my  thoughts  it  is  something  awful 
to  have  to  have  it.  For  the  love  of  heaven  help 
a  heartbroken  girl  at  once  and  before  it  is  too  late 
for  me  to  regain  my  chance  of  heaven." 

Now  suppose  you  were  a  physician  and  that 
girl,  instead  of  being  a  stranger,  was  a  very  dear 
friend  who  had  come  to  you  in  your  office,  would 
you  not  be  tempted  to  grant  her  wishes?  That 
is  the  position  in  which  every  physician  is  placed 
a  great  many  times.  Some  allow  their  sympa- 
thies to  rule  and  so  break  the  laws  of  the  land. 
They  allow  their  sympathies  to  overcome  the 
moral  truths  that  previously  had  been  their  guide. 
They  commit  a  crime  by  taking  a  life,  even  though 
that  life  were  not  fully  developed. 

Many  women  have  the  false  idea  that  there  is 
no  life  before  the  fifth  month  and  so  think  they 
are  not  destroying  life  if  they  have  an  abortion 

94 


ABORTIONS 

at  the  end  of  the  first,  the  second  or  even  the  third 
month.  This  idea  is  entirely  erroneous,  for  there 
is  life  from  the  very  beginning  and  it  is  just  as 
wrong  to  destroy  life  the  first  few  months  as  it 
would  be  to  do  so  later. 

Aside  from  this  moral  reason  there  is  a  very 
important  reason  for  not  havmg  abortions.  You 
may  regret  it  afterwards!  Let  mc  give  you  an 
instance.  One  of  my  friends,  a  charming  young 
woman,  was  married  several  years  ago.  After 
her  marriage  she  moved  to  a  distant  city  and  I 
did  not  see  her  for  about  four  years.  Then  she 
returned  and  called  to  see  me.  During  the  course 
of  our  conversation  I  asked  her  if  she  had  any 
children.  Her  reply  in  a  very  sad  tone  was, 
"  No,  I  guess  I  did  too  much  interfering  at  first, 
so  now  I  cannot  have  any."  Then  she  told  me 
she  had  the  idea  she  did  not  wish  to  have  children 
for  several  years  after  she  was  married.  So  dur- 
ing the  first  year  she  had  an  abortion  performed. 
Now  for  two  years  she  had  been  wanting  a  baby 
but  none  came.  That  is  the  history  of  so  many 
women.     The  regrets ! 

All  women  naturally  desire  to  have  children. 
If  they  do  not,  they  arc  the  victims  of  false  ideas 

95 


HERSELF 

or  of  fear.  Anything  which  is  natural  is  the 
best,  so  usually  a  woman  who  bears  children  is 
much  healthier  than  one  who  does  not.  Think 
of  the  women  of  your  acquaintance  and  see  if  the 
mothers  are  not  happier  and  healthier  than  the 
women  who  are  childless. 


96 


CHAPTER  X 

MATERNAL    IMPRESSIONS HEREDITY 

Every  child  has  a  right  to  be  born  well.  An 
tjndesired  child  never  should  be  brought  into  the 
world.  An  undesired  child  or  a  child  of  parents 
who  are  not  in  good  bodily  or  mental  condition 
comes  into  the  world  with  an  inheritance  that 
perhaps  never  is  overcome.  How  can  we  expect 
children  of  parents  with  criminal  tendencies  to 
become  good  citizens? 

Children  born  in  circumstances  under  which  the 
expectant  mother  has  been  subjected  to  fright  or 
to  cruel  treatment  are  handicapped  in  the  very- 
beginning  of  life's  race.  Maternal  impressions 
from  fright  or  physical  violence  undoubtedly  arc 
followed  by  the  birth  of  individuals  malformed 
and  in  many  respects  with  altered  minds.  Al- 
though some  biologists  try  to  deny  this,  the  coin- 
cidence is  too  widely  observed  to  admit  of  doubt, 
although  the  precise  manner  in  which  the  effect  is 

97 


HERSELF 

produced  has  not  been  clearly  demonstrated. 
Sufficient  is  known  to  make  it  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance that,  in  the  interest  of  her  offspring,  the 
expectant  mother  be  not  subjected  to  sudden  or 
violent  mechanical  force  or  to  any  great  nervous 
shock.  Equally  important  is  it  that  she  should 
be  surrounded  by  a  harmonious  environment  in 
order  to  give  the  unborn  child  all  possible  benefit 
of  such  surroundings. 

By  many  it  is  claimed  that  the  mother's  mental 
condition  during  this  period  will  be  reflected  in  the 
child  both  mentally  and  physically.  For  instance 
if  the  mother  be  calm,  free  from  worry  and  happy 
in  anticipation  of  the  coming  event,  her  offspring 
will  have  a  sound  nervous  system,  shown  by  a  per- 
fect digestion  and  an  excellent  disposition :  while 
if  the  mother  be  irritable  and  unhappy  her  child 
is  inclined  to  have  various  digestive  ills,  as  well 
as  to  be  cross  and  restless. 

Great  disturbances  in  the  expectant  mother's 
health  also  have  their  effect  upon  the  child.  The 
erroneous  idea  that  there  is  no  life  before  the 
third  or  fifth  month  allows  many  conscientious 
women  to  attempt  measures  that  will  cause  the  dis- 

98 


MATERNAL  IMPRESSIONS 

charge  of  the  products  of  conception.  These 
measures  not  only  are  dangerous  to  the  health  or 
the  life  of  the  woman  but,  in  the  event  of  their 
proving  unsuccessful,  may  result  in  the  birth  of 
a  deformed  or  a  mentally  defective  child. 

Parents  who  have  become  degenerate  from  the 
immoderate  use  of  alcohol  or  other  stimulants  or 
those  who  are  afflicted  with  one  of  the  black 
plagues  furnish  further  examples  of  the  birth  of 
deficient  offspring. 

The  question  of  heredity  has  received  con- 
siderable attention  during  recent  years.  As  a  re- 
sult, many  of  our  pet  theories  have  undergone  a 
decided  change.  Many  of  the  diseases  which 
formerly  were  thought  to  be  acquired  through  in- 
heritance we  now  know  to  be  contracted  through 
lack  of  care  or  through  association.  The  only  in- 
heritance is  possibly  a  tendency  to  the  disease  or 
a  decrease  in  the  power  of  resistance.  It  Is  a  law 
of  pathology  that  the  diseases  of  parents  who 
suffer  from  certain  serious  chronic  maladies  create 
in  the  offspring  a  condition  of  defective  life  shown 
In  malformations  or  in  altered  nutrition.  The 
hereditary  influence  of  most  diseases  Is  shown  in 

99 


HERSELF 

the  transmission  to  the  child  of  a  defective  body 
shown  by  feebleness  or  a  diminished  power  of  re- 
sisting disease. 

In  tuberculosis  and  other  diseases  that  once 
were  considered  hereditary,  this  influence  is  shown 
probably  only  in  a  predisposition  to  the  disease 
which  under  favorable  circumstances  finds  an  easy 
condition  of  growth.  The  child  does  not  actually 
inherit  the  disease  and  if  placed  in  favorable  sur- 
roundings will  outgrow  the  tendency,  will  over- 
come the  feeble  vitality.  But  such  a  child  if  al- 
lowed to  remain  with  Its  parent,  to  breathe  the 
germs  of  disease  cast  off  by  the  parent,  readily 
contracts  the  disease.  For  the  sake  of  the  child 
it  must  be  separated  from  its  tubercular  parent. 
It  must  be  given  fresh  air  and  nourishing  food. 

There  is  one  disease,  though,  that  seems  to  be 
truly  Inherited:  the  worst  of  the  black  plagues, 
syphilis.  This  may  be  inherited  from  either  par- 
ent, It  frequently  Is  Inherited  from  the  father  even 
though  the  mother  docs  not  contract  the  disease. 
This  inheritance  seems  to  manifest  itself  chiefly 
in  a  disordered  nutrition.  Even  during  the  first 
few  months  of  development,  this  may  be  so  ef- 

lOO 


MATERNAL  IMPRESSIONS 

fective  as  to  destroy  life.  You  remember,  I 
mentioned  this  when  I  talked  about  abortions. 
If  life  is  not  destroyed,  the  nutritional  processes 
may  be  so  affected  that  the  pregnancy  will  result 
in  the  birth  of  a  defective  child.  These  children, 
perhaps  fortunately,  usually  die  during  the  first 
few  months  of  their  lives.  Seldom  do  they  live 
to  maturity.  Many  children  who  seem  to  have 
escaped  this  inherited  trait  really  have  not  done 
so,  but  their  inheritance  is  not  recognized. 
Some  people  with  defective  generative  organs 
owe  this  to  a  diseased  parent.  Others  suffering 
from  a  chronic  skin  disorder,  and  many  afflicted 
with  epilepsy  or  some  brain  malformation  could 
trace  their  Inheritance  to  the  same  source.  This 
disease  seems  truly  to  be  an  instance  of  "  visiting 
the  sins  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children  unto  the 
third  and  fourth  generation." 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  general  health  of  the 
child  is  affected  by  the  health  of  the  mother  espe- 
cially during  the  period  when  the  child  is  nour- 
ished from  the  mother's  blood.  Attention  to 
such  matters  as  diet,  sleep  and  exercise  certainly 
has  a  great  Influence  upon  the  constitution  of  the 

lOI 


HERSELF 

unborn  child.  The  best  heritage  a  mother  can 
give  her  child  is  a  strong  constitution,  and  in  order 
to  do  this  she  must  make  motherhood  a  science. 


I02 


CHAPTER  XI 

CHILDLESS    HOMES  AND  REAL   HOMES CAUSES 

OF    STERILITY 

Whatever  may  be  the  motive  that  causes  men 
and  women  to  enter  Into  matrimony,  the  social 
reason  is  the  perpetuation  of  the  human  race. 
Herbert  Spencer  says,  "  The  welfare  of  the  family 
underlies  the  welfare  of  society."  Therefore 
those  who  marry  for  convenience  or  with  the 
avowed  Intention  of  not  assuming  the  obligations 
of  parenthood  have  not  the  welfare  of  the  human 
race  at  heart  and  are  a  menace  to  society  in  Its 
highest  form. 

Childless  homes  are  not  the  happy  homes,  any- 
how! Their  occupants  usually  are  dissatisfied; 
the  women  are  nervous,  Irritable  and  unhappy; 
the  men  are  seeking  happiness  elsewhere.  The 
homes  childless  from  choice  should  receive  our 
condemnation,  but  the  homes  childless  from 
necessity  should  receive  our  commiseration.     The 

103 


HERSELF 

latter  are  much  more  prevalent  than  many  of  our 
race  suicide  agitators  would  admit.  These  arc 
too  prone  to  blame  the  woman  for  what  is  not  her 
choice.  We  hear  so  much  about  the  higher  edu- 
cation of  women  promoting  race  suicide.  A  re- 
cent investigation  carrl/^d  on  by  a  well-known 
magazine  has  proven  that  such  is  not  the  case. 
The  college  girls  and  the  professional  women 
desire  children  much  more  than  do  the  factory 
girls.  But  these  college  girls  realize  that  quality 
is  as  necessary  as  quantity.  They  do  not  desire 
to  bring  into  the  world  weak,  puny  offspring. 
These  college  girls  are  beginning  to  make  mother- 
hood a  science.  What  the  results  will  be  we  can 
only  anticipate. 

A  normal  woman,  who  has  not  become  Imbued 
with  false  ideas  and  fear,  desires  children.  She 
realizes  that  motherhood,  if  rightly  carried  out, 
is  a  privilege  and  not  a  curse;  it  is  the  woman 
who  has  been  falsely  educated  who  dreads  mother- 
hood. This  morning  I  received  a  letter  which 
shows  the  prevailing  attitude  of  many  girls.  The 
writer  says: 

*'  I  am  twenty-two  years  of  age  but  strange  to 
say  I  am  ignorant  as  far  as  knowledge  about  th» 

104 


CAUSES  OF  STERILITY 

origin  of  life,  etc.,  is  concerned.  I  am  a  business 
girl,  drawing  a  good  salary,  and  have  many  gentle- 
man and  lady  friends.  I  am  the  oldest  child  of 
a  large  family  of  moderate  means  and  have  been 
brought  up  under  Christian  principles  and  pos- 
sess a  goodly  amount  of  common  sense.  I  long 
have  been  anxious  in  regard  to  this  important 
subject  but  never  have  asked  anyone  for  advice, 
shuddering  to  do  so,  feehng  thar  if  I  had  a  chance 
to  ask  a  lady  with  knowledge,  as  a  nurse  or  some 
such  person,  I  would  do  so.  But  to  tell  the  truth, 
I  did  not  care  to  find  out  such  things,  but  I  real- 
ize the  fact  that  I  must  know  in  order  to  guard 
myself;  for  that  is  something  no  one  can  do  for 
me  at  a  critical  moment.  I  have  no  less  than 
three  gentleman  admirers,  but  I  have  no  desire  to 
be  a  married  woman  for  a  long  time  to  come,  but 
I  feel  that  I  must  be  armed  with  the  knowledge  of 
right  and  wrong.  I  shudder  on  account  of  fear 
to  think  of  becoming  a  mother.  I  hear  so  much 
of  woman's  pains  and  aches  and  the  such,  that  I 
often  think  I  would  prefer  to  remain  single  all 
my  life,  although  I  am  perfectly  healthy  and  a 
happy,  cheerful  girl.  My  mother  is,  and  always 
will  be,  too  busy  to  tell  me  about  such  matters, 

105 


HERSELF 

although  I  had  a  right  to  know  long  ago.  As 
you  say,  an  Ignorant,  innocent  girl  would  be  guilty 
before  the  world  if  something  wrong  should  hap- 
pen to  her  and  in  most  cases  it  is  not  her  fault. 
Can  you  give  me  the  desired  information  or  can 
you  recommend  some  good  book?  If  so,  I  assure 
you  that  your  efforts  will  be  greatly  appreciated." 
This  letter  certainly  indicates  that  the  writer  has 
a  good  amount  of  common  sense.  The  trouble 
is  she  has  become  over-impressed  with  the  possi- 
bilities of  pain,  and  never  has  been  told  the  won- 
derful truths  that  would  overcome  this  fear.  If 
love  is  the  greatest  thing  in  the  world,  fear  and  Its 
companion,  worry,  certainly  are  the  greatest  curses 
of  humanity.  And  the  most  pitiful  par;  is  that 
this  fear  and  worry  usually  result  from  ignorance 
which  a  little  instruction  at  the  right  time  could 
dispel  so  easily.  It  is  the  unknown  things  that 
we  fear.  When  any  trouble  actually  comes  we 
find  strength  enough  to  meet  it,  and,  anyway,  it 
usually  is  not  half  as  bad  in  the  reality  as  in  the 
prospect.  Young  girls  hear  so  much  about  the 
pains  of  childbirth  that  this  fear  overshadows  the 
natural  longings  for  motherhood.      It  is  not  until 

1 06 


CAUSES  OF  STERILITY 

motherhood  is  an  actual  fact  that  they  renlize  the 
happiness  is  worth  all  the  cost. 

But  this  fear  is  not  what  actually  makes  many 
childless  homes.  They  often  are  unpremeditated. 
A  large  percentage  of  the  sterility  in  the  world  is 
due  to  the  results  of  indiscretions  that  are  the  out- 
come of  ignorance.  One  great  factor  in  childless 
homes  is  the  prevalence  of  the  black  plagues.  It 
is  estimated  that  forty-five  per  cent,  of  sterile  mar- 
riages are  due  to  that  seemingly  mild  disease  which 
is  regarded  as  no  worse  than  a  cold  and  which  has 
been  contracted  either  by  the  man  or  the  woman. 
This  disease  aoes  not  disqualify  the  woman  alone, 
as  was  formerly  thought,  for  recent  investigations 
have  proven  that  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  sterile 
marriages  are  due  to  sterility  of  the  male.  Oh, 
the  innumerable  women  who  have  submitted  to  un« 
pleasant  treatments  and  even  operations  in  the 
hope  of  overcoming  sterility  when  all  the  time  the 
fault  was  elsewhere !  The  microscope  has  proven 
that  even  though  a  man  may  seemingly  be  healthy 
and  capable  of  sustaining  the  marriage  relation, 
yet  his  efforts  are  valueless ;  for  the  spermatozoa, 
the  life-giving  element,  are  dead,  due  usually  to 

107 


HERSELF 

an  Inflammation  which  accompanied  an  attack  of 
this  seemingly  mild  disease, —  gonorrhoea. 

This  disease  is  responsible  for  many  of  the  one 
child  marriages.  How  often  we  see  a  family  with 
only  one  child,  this  child  born  during  the  first 
year  of  married  life,  then  there  are  no  more  preg- 
nancies. The  woman  probably  has  contracted 
a  disease  from  her  husband  and,  during  the  period 
immediately  following  the  birth  of  her  baby  when 
the  entire  generative  system  is  in  a  condition  to 
easily  become  inflamed,  the  tubes  have  become 
closed.     Another  pregnancy  is  very  unlikely. 

Another  factor  in  sterility  is  abortions.  So 
many  times  we  hear  a  young  married  woman  say, 
"  I  do  not  want  a  child  the  first  year,  but  after 
that  I  would  like  one."  In  order  to  carry  out  her 
desires  it  is  not  uncommon  for  an  abortion  to  be 
performed  during  the  first  few  months.  In  many 
cases  an  inflammation  follows  this  interference  and 
the  tubes  become  closed  perm.anently.  Then  when 
the  voman  is  ready  to  have  a  child  it  is  impossible. 
Girls  about  to  enter  marriage  should  be  cognizant 
of  this  possibility  and  not  take  any  risks,  for  few 
women  would  do  anything  voluntarily  that  would 
condemn  them  to  childless  lives. 

io8 


CHAPTER  XII 

PREVENTION  OF  PREGNANCY 

This  morning  I  received  a  letter  which  says  in 
part,  "  I  am  a  young  school  teacher  and  do  not 
know  lots  I  should,  but  will  come  to  you  for  ad- 
vice. Now  I  am  engaged  to  the  dearest  boy  In 
the  world.  I  will  do  my  best  to  be  a  good  wife 
and  do  my  duty.  But  my  health  is  not  so  very 
good  and  I  want  to  put  oft  motherhood  for  awhile. 
Will  you  kindly  tell  me  some  remedy  that  will 
keep  me  from  becoming  pregnant?  I  have  long 
wanted  to  ask  someone  but  always  was  afraid. 
Mother  never  tells  me  anything." 

This  is  the  type  of  question  that  is  asked  every 
physician  many  times.  Those  who  do  not  ask, 
wish  to  —  and  blame  physicians  for  not  telling 
the  things  they  want  to  know.  What  is  my  an- 
swer to  such  a  question?     Just  this: 

There  is  in  effect  a  federal  statute  making  It  a 
felony  punishable  by  $5,000  fine  and  five  years 

109 


HERSELF 

at  hard  labor  to  impart  any  information  whatever 
relating  to  the  preventing  of  conception.  The  in- 
formation may  concern  a  thing,  an  instrument,  or 
it  need  not  be  any  material  substance  at  all  —  only 
a  "  method."  I  obey  that  law  as  I  am  not  fool- 
hardy enough  to  walk  into  absolute  danger. 

Every  day  we  see  examples  of  heart-breaking 
misery  caused  by  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  proper 
means  of  prevention.  The  limitation  of  the  num- 
ber of  offspring  has  become  an  important  problem 
to  be  considered.  There  are  thousands  of  families 
that  would  be  perfectly  happy  if  the  number  of 
offspring  could  be  limited.  There  are  thousands 
of  young  men  who  would  be  glad  to  get  married 
but  are  afraid  to  do  so  for  fear  of  having  a 
family  larger  than  they  could  supply  with  the 
necessities  of  life.  These  same  young  men,  be- 
cause they  are  not  married,  frequent  questionable 
houses  and  often  contract  one  or  more  of  the 
venereal  diseases. 

There  are  thousands  of  women  who  have  be- 
come semi-invalids  because  of  a  too  prolific  off- 
spring. The  babies  came  so  fast  the  mother  had 
no  opportunity  to  regain  her  health  and  strength. 
TKere  are  other  thousands  of  women  who  are  made 

no 


PREVENTION  OF  PREGNANCl: 

Invalids  because  of  attempts  at  abortion,  or  have 
been  driven  into  early  graves  by  these  attempts^ 
while  some  have  actually  killed  themselves. 

There  are  thousands  of  children  half  starved 
because  their  parents  are  unable  to  supply  them 
the  necessities  of  life.  There  are  other  thousands 
of  children  below  par  mentally  and  physically  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  the  mother  was  weak  from 
too  frequent  childbearing.  There  are  other  thou- 
sands of  children  born  of  syphilitic,  tubercular 
or  epileptic  parents  v/ho  never  should  have  been 
born  at  all  because  they  came  into  life  so  handi- 
capped and  had  to  fight  against  such  severe  odds 
that  they,  after  a  brief  struggle,  met  an  early 
death.  There  are  children  brought  into  this  world 
amidst  cursing  who  never  hear  much  else. 

We  find  it  necessary  to  regulate  the  parentage  of 
our  domestic  animals  in  order  to  insure  a  good 
race.  But  children  can  come  by  chance.  The 
most  degraded  of  men  is  allowed  to  beget  chil- 
dren of  his  kind.  There  is  small  chance  for  race 
improvement  under  such  conditions.  The  same 
laws  hold  true  as  to  the  future  generation  of 
humans  as  are  true  of  animals  or  plants. 

Human  beings  are  not  mere  animals  and  they 

III 


HERSELF 

should  be  allowed  to  decide  how  many  children 
they  should  have.  Furthermore,  the  present  laws 
do  net  attain  their  object.  We  all  pretend  to 
obey  the  laws  but  everyone  knows  that  in  every 
city  there  are  many  women,  and  men  also,  who 
make  an  excellent  Income  from  performing  abor- 
tions. I  would  venture  to  say  that  in  Chicago 
alone  there  Is  at  least  one  abortion  performed 
every  hour  —  and  Chicago  Is  not  so  very  different 
from  other  parts  of  the  country  in  this  respect. 
The  ways  and  means  to  prevent  pregnancy  are 
sold  and  are  bringing  a  rich  reward  to  their  manu- 
facturers. But  the  advertisements  are  so  care- 
fully worded  that  the  law  is  not  violated.  But 
the  interested  understand.  If  the  manufacturer  or 
his  agent  were  accused  of  selling  anything  to  pre- 
vent pregnancy,  he  would  simulate  great  surprise 
and  possible  indignation.  He  doing  such  a  thing! 
Impossible !  Why,  he  Is  selling  a  simple  hygienic 
device  or  drug  used  in  the  treatment  of  certain 
diseases. 

If  we  have  laws,  let  us  obey  them;  but  if  we  do 
not  intend  to  obey  them,  let  us  stop  being  hypo- 
crites  and   remove   them    from   the   statutes.     If 

I  12 


PREVENTION  OF  PREGNANCY 

the  law  remains  let  us  make  it  far-reaching  enough 
to  include  those  who  now  are  so  flagrantly  violat- 
ing it.  But  if  means  for  the  prevention  of  preg- 
nancy are  necessary  to  the  health  and  happiness  of 
the  human  race,  let  us  change  the  laws  so  we  can 
have  the  best  of  these  preventives  and  allow  rep- 
utable physicians  to  give  whatever  information 
they  can  to  prevent  this  wholesale  misuse  of  a  law 
by  the  unscrupulous, —  the  law-breakers. 

A  recent  investigation  carried  on  by  one  maga- 
zine proved  that  the  knowledge  of  how  to  prevent 
conception  would  not  mean  race  suicide,  as  some 
fear.  As  reported  in  this  magazine,  the  college 
girls  and  professional  women  who  no  doubt  had 
given  these  subjects  careful  consideration,  desired 
children  more  than  did  those  whose  experience  had 
been  a  poor  home  and  a  large  family.  The  aver- 
age number  of  children  desired  by  the  well- 
informed  woman  was  four.  That  would  not 
mean  race-suicide!  It  would  mean  that  children 
were  given  a  fair  start  in  life  by  being  desired  and 
planned  for  before  their  conception.  Every  trufl 
woman  desires  a  home  and  children  but  9^^e  does 
not  wish  to  be  driven  Into  motherhood.     Every 

"3 


HERSELF 

true  man  desires  a  family  but  he  docs  not  feci 
justified  in  bringing  children  into  the  world  to  be 
half  starved  and  with  no  advantages  of  education. 
What  is  the  solution  of  the  problem? 


114 


CHAPTER  XIII 

SOME  OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  DIVORCE 

Until  our  marriage  laws  are  so  adjusted  that 
there  are  no  unequal  marriages,  the  question  of 
divorce  always  will  be  eminent.  The  ever  present 
agitation  about  uniform  divorce  laws  and  the  di- 
vorce problem  cannot  be  settled  until  there  are 
more  stringent  marriage  laws.  Trying  to  settle 
the  divorce  question  without  first  settling  the  mar- 
riage question  is  like  trying  to  keep  chickens  in  a 
small  yard  surrounded  by  enticing  fields  without 
first  constructing  an  adequate  fence. 

Divorce  Is  the  concession  of  society  to  its  in- 
ability to  solve  the  marriage  problem.  Anyone 
can  get  married !  Mere  children  can  meet  on  a 
pleasure  excursion  and  In  a  moment  of  fun  or 
infatuation  walk  over  to  a  justice  of  the  peace  and 
be  married.  In  some  estates  not  even  a  license  is 
necessary.  A  large  proportion  of  the  marriages 
In  the  world  are  consummated  without  a  proper 

115 


HERSELF 

consideration  on  the  part  of  either  bride  or  groom 
as  to  the  responsibilities  of  the  marriage  state. 
Many  of  the  marriages  are  made  simply  as  a  mat- 
ter of  convenience  —  In  order  to  Inherit  property, 
for  social  position  or  in  a  spirit  of  pique.  Such 
marriages  are  not  natural  marriages  and  are  In 
violation  of  the  right  spirit  of  the  law  of  mar- 
riage. The  much  quoted  saying,  "  What  God 
hath  joined  together,  let  no  man  put  asunder," 
surely  does  not  apply  to  these  marriages;  for 
that  very  admission  would  be  a  condemnation  of 
the  wisdom  of  God.  He  surely  never  would  give 
his  sanction  to  many  of  the  marriages  contracted 
in  a  spirit  of  lust  or  of  greed. 

It  is  as  impossible  to  keep  mismated  people  to- 
gether as  it  Is  to  keep  chemical  incompatiblcs 
together.  No  chemist  would  try  to  keep  chlorate 
of  potash  and  sulphur  together  even  if  they  did, 
by  some  accident,  happen  to  be  In  the  same  locality. 
It  Is  just  as  Impossible  to  keep  two  incompatible 
people  together  and  not  expect  an  explosion. 
The  law  may  keep  such  people  legally  bound, 
>Jt  It  cannot  keep  them  so  mentally  or  phys- 
ically. A  prominent  rctormer  is  reported  to 
have    said    that    fully    one-third    of    the    married 

ii6 


SOME  OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  DIVORCE 

population  of  New  York  City  Is  unfaithful 
to  the  physical  obligation.  And  New  York 
is  not  so  very  different  from  other  parts  of 
the  country.  Many  who  are  not  physically  dis- 
loyal are  mentally  so.  The  no-divorce  law  will 
not  prevent  this  condition  of  affairs.  Whites  and 
blacks  cannot  marry  legally  In  the  South  and  yet 
In  some  of  the  Southern  states  which  have  a  no- 
divorce  system  a  large  proportion  of  the  colored 
population  is  mulatto. 

Nature's  laws  tend  to  provide  an  indissoluble 
union,  but  divorce  represents  the  protest  of  the 
individual  against  the  Inharmonious  relations  he 
ignorantly  or  thoughtlessly  has  assumed. 

Even  those  who  are  the  loudest  in  their  con- 
demnation of  divorce  could  not  sanction  marriage 
under  certain  conditions.  I  wonder  If  these  peo- 
ple know  that  many  of  the  divorces  that  are 
granted  under  the  head  of  cruelty  really  are 
granted  because  one  of  the  parties  has  contracted 
one  of  the  loathsome  black  plagues.  No  humane 
person  could  condemn  a  v/oman  for  refusing  to 
live  with  a  man  and  take  the  almost  certain  risk 
of  contracting  a  disease  that  would  mean  hef 
death  or  mutilation,  or  for  refusing  to  bear  chil* 

117 


HERSELF 

dren  that  would  come  into  the  world  an  object  of 
disgust  and  horror  or  which  would  die  before  be- 
ing born.  Some  of  these  reformers  say,  "  Let  her 
live  separately  from  him  but  not  marry  again.'* 
That  would  be  condemning  an  innocent  woman  to 
a  childless  life  because  she  had  been  so  unfortunate 
as  to  become  bound  to  a  dissipated  man. 

Another  underlying  but  often  unknown  factor 
in  many  of  the  divorce  cases  is  sterility.  In  some 
states  the  law  says  this  is  a  just  cause  for  divorce, 
because  the  future  of  the  nation  depends  on  the 
production  of  children.  Because  a  woman,  in  her 
ignorance,  has  married  a  man  who  is  incapable  of 
producing  healthy  offspring,  due  to  his  having 
"  sown  his  wild  oats,"  should  not  be  a  reason  why 
she  should  be  condemned  to  forego  the  pleasures 
of  motherhood.  Because  a  man  has  married  a 
woman  who  is  sterile  or  who  selfishly  refuses  to 
bear  children  should  not  be  a  reason  why  he  should 
be  denied  an  heir. 

Again,  it  is  unfair  to  the  future  generation  to 
compel  mismated  couples  to  live  together.  Chil- 
dren brought  into  the  world  under  such  conditions 
arc  bequeathed  a  heritage  that  will  have  a  de- 
moralizing   effect    upon    their    whole    after    life. 

ii8 


SOME  OF  THE  CAUSES  OF  DIVORCE 

Children,  who  every  day  hear  quarrels  and  strife 
between  those  they  should  honor,  lose  something 
of  the  beauty  of  life;  they  become  hardened  and 
quarrelsome.  Of  course  these  divorces  must  not 
be  granted  promiscuously;  for  in  bringing  children 
into  the  world,  parents  assume  an  obligation  that 
cannot  be  neglected.  In  considering  a  separation, 
the  parents'  first  thought  should  be,  "  What  is 
best  for  my  children?  "  The  duty  to  the  children 
should  be  settled  first.  Then  the  question  comes, 
"  What  is  my  duty  to  my  wife  or  my  husband?  " 
for  the  act  of  making  any  contract  imposes  certain 
obligations.  The  Individual  circumstances  must 
settle  what  these  obligations  arc.  Last  comes  the 
question,  "What  is  my  duty  to  myself?  I  was 
placed  in  this  world  to  make  the  best  use  of  my 
life.  Am  I  doing  it  or  is  It  Impossible  to  do  so 
unless  I  change  my  environment  and  associates  ?  " 
The  conscience  of  the  Individual  should  be  the 
guide  now. 

Were  there  more  frankness  and  sincerity  in  dis- 
cussing the  problems  and  conditions  of  married 
life  before  marriage  much  unhapplness  would  be 
avoided  and  there  would  be  fewer  divorces;  for 
many  engaged  people  would  thus  discover  they 

119 


HERSELF 

were  mismated  before  the  marriage  ceremony. 
To  reach  a  complete  understanding  is  the  main 
purpose  of  the  engagement  period.  Marriage  is 
not  a  lottery  nor  a  game  of  chance  to  the  man  and 
woman  entering  it  with  a  knowledge  of  sex  rela- 
tions and  with  absolute  mutual  honesty. 


120 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  NEED  OF  EARLY  INSTRUCTION  OF  GIRLS 

Dr.  Charles  W.  Eliot,  former  president  of 
Harvard  University,  recently  said: 

"  The  subject  of  reproduction  and  sexual  hy- 
giene should  be  more  generally  presented  to 
young  people  by  parents  and  teachers.  I  am  con- 
vinced that  the  policy  of  silence  has  failed  dlsas- 
trouslv." 

That  you  may  understand  how  widely  spread 
is  this  desire  on  the  part  of  women  for  a  better 
knowledge  of  themselves  and  of  those  things  so 
vitally  important  to  the  welfare  of  the  future 
generation,  I  shall  quote  a  few  extracts  from 
letters  I  have  received  from  women  In  various 
parts  of  the  country.  These  letters,  too,  will 
serve  to  show  the  woeful  ignorance  along  these 
lines  among  even  the  well  educated  women,  and 
also  the  need  for  some  systematic  instruction. 

A    very    intelligent    girl    from    South    Dakota 

121 


HERSELF 

writes  this  heart  story:  "  My  mother  died  when 
I  was  a  babe.  After  her  death  I  was  sent  out 
among  strangers.  While  away  from  home  and 
before  I  was  six  years  old  a  young  fellow  about 
fifteen  years  old  possessed  me  and  threatened  to 
do  something  terrible  to  me  if  I  told.  I  did  not 
dare  tell.  Luckily  I  was  taken  home  at  that  time, 
as  I  now  had  a  step-mother.  But  still  more  hor- 
rible, it  also  happened  that  I  had  immoral  re- 
lations with  my  brother.  When  I  found  out  that 
this  was  the  way  people  got  babies,  I  wished  I 
could  get  one.  I  was  not  very  old  before  I  un- 
derstood that  this  was  a  wrong  and  a  shame  and 
acted  accordingly.  My  parents  never  mentioned 
things  of  this  nature  to  me.  How  much  better 
it  would  have  been  if  they  had  done  so  when  we 
were  real  young.  How  many  things  were  spoken 
of  by  schoolmates  and  told  in  the  dirtiest  possible 
way  and  things  also  were  said  that  I  now  know 
were  entirely  wrong." 

1  cannot  impress  upon  you  too  strongly  the 
need  of  early  talks  with  young  children  on  these 
matters.  As  soon  as  they  enter  school  at  the  age 
of  six  and  even  belore  this,  in  some  cases,  they 
arc  bound  to  hear  these  things   from  their  play- 

122 


THE  NEED  OF  EARLY  INSTRUCTION 

mates.  Usually  the  information  Is  thrust  upon 
the  child  in  a  very  vulgar  manner,  or  entirely 
wrong  impressions  are  given.  The  very  secrecy 
that  always  has  surrounded  these  subjects  makes 
them  an  object  of  interest  to  children.  The  func- 
tions of  the  generative  organs  are  just  as  natural  a 
process  as  the  process  of  digestion.  We  make 
no  secret  of  the  process  of  digestion,  and  children 
do  not  manifest  any  morbid  curiosity  regarding  it. 
If  we  v.'ould  discuss  the  functions  of  the  genera- 
tive organs  In  just  as  natural  a  way,  many  of  our 
great  problems  would  right  themselves. 

A  woman  In  one  of  the  western  states  writes, 
"  Once  I  had  a  heated  argument  upon  that  sub- 
ject with  another  woman.  She  always  had  lived 
in  a  small  community.  In  her  opinion  all  city 
girls  were  morally  depraved.  She  had  two 
daughters  of  her  own.  Both  girls  gave  birth  to 
babies  at  the  age  of  fourteen  and  sixteen  years. 
It  transpired  later  that  these  girls  first  began  the 
evil  practice  at  school.  And  I  will  state  here, 
regardless  of  contradiction,  that  the  village  school 
is  often  the  breeder  of  immoral  characters  among 
both  boys  and  girls. 

"  In  a  small  farming  community  of  California 

123 


HERSELF 

containing  about  forty  children  of  school  age,  it 
was  discovered  that  immoral  practices  had  been 
carried  on  for  years  among  the  older  children. 
One  little  girl,  being  new  to  the  school  and  also 
being  in  the  habit  of  telling  her  mother  every- 
thing, repeated  some  of  the  sights  she  had  seen 
during  the  recess  and  noon  hours,  and  also  some 
of  the  conversation  she  had  heard  among  the 
children.  The  mother,  being  horrified  at  the 
child's  revelations  and  knowing  the  child  must 
have  some  foundation  for  her  stories,  told  a 
friend  about  it.  This  woman  told  some  of  her 
friends  who  were  the  mothers  of  the  children  the 
little  girl  had  named  to  her  mother.  Of  course, 
the  children  were  questioned  and  denied  all  knowl- 
edge of  things  the  child  had  mentioned.  The 
mothers  were  indignant  that  their  children  should 
be  accused  of  anything  like  that.  They  unques- 
tionably believed  the  denial,  making  no  effort  to 
find  out  if  there  might  be  any  truth  in  the  report. 
That  mother  and  her  little  one  were  *  sent  to 
Coventry'  with  a  vengeance.  Later  some  of 
these  mothers  had  cause  to  repent  of  their  care- 
lessness  in    having   neglected   or   disregarded   the 

124 


THE  NEED  OF  EARLY  INSTRUCTION 

warning.  They  found  to  their  sorrow  that  the 
little  girl  was  not  telling  an  untruth,  after  all. 

"The  trouble  with  the  mother  in  the  small 
community  is  that  she  judges  her  children  by  her 
own  past.  She,  perhaps,  had  an  entirely  different 
environment  from  that  of  her  children  and  be- 
cause she  came  out  all  right,  naturally  sees  no 
use  in  bothering  about  talking  to  her  girls. 
'  They  will  learn  these  things  soon  enough,'  she 
says  when  the  subject  is  mentioned.  That  they 
either  already  have  learned  them  or  may  be  learn- 
ing them  in  a  manner  of  which  she  would  be  the 
last  to  approve,  she  does  not  take  into  considera- 
tion. An  attempt  to  warn  such  a  mother  often  is 
misunderstood." 

That  young  women  realize  their  need  and  are 
anxious  for  any  help  is  shown  by  these  letters. 
From  New  York  a  girl  writes,  "  I  am  twenty-two 
years  of  age  and  as  yet  know  nothing  about  the 
mysteries  of  life,  and  I  am  beginning  to  worry 
about  it  as  I  am  keeping  company  with  a  young 
man  and  expect  to  become  engaged  to  him.  I 
know  nothing  of  what  is  expected  of  me  when  I 
get   married   and    I    know    there    are    a    number 

125 


HERSELF 

of  girls  just  like  me  and  that  they  are  worried, 
too." 

From  a  girl  in  Seattle  came  this  letter,  "  No 
one  ever  told  me  about  this  wonderful  body  of 
ours  and  that  God  made  it  in  his  likeness  for  his 
glorification.  When  I  asked  where  the  babies 
came  from,  I  was  told  the  doctor  brought  them  in 
his  case.  One  day  I  saw  a  boy  and  girl  about 
eight  years  of  age  doing  wrong,  and  thought 
nothing  of  it  when  my  brother,  who  was  fourteen 
while  I  was  six,  proposed  that  we  do  likewise. 
This  was  kept  up  until  I  was  somewhere  between 
eleven  and  thirteen,  when  I  was  converted  and  it 
occurred  to  me  that  this  was  not  the  right  thing 
to  do,  but  I  never  dreamed  that  I  would  suffer  so 
these  ten  years,  as  I  am  twenty-three  now.  Only 
in  the  last  few  years  I  have  learned  how  God 
made  these  organs  for  the  marriage  relation  only 
and  how  life  was  formed.  I  would  go  to  my 
mother  for  this  information  but  I  know  it  would 
break  her  heart  and  I  am  afraid  she  could  not  tell 
me  what  I  want  to  know.  I  would  not  write  thia 
but  I  am  deeply  in  love  with  a  Christian  man,  and 
I  could  not  marry  anyone  until  I  know  about  this 
matter.      I  often  have  made  a  vow  I  never  would 

126 


THE  NEED  OF  EARLY  INSTRUCTION 

marry  anyone,  but  this  love  came  to  me  before  I 
could  help  myself,  and  as  he  told  me  of  his  love 
I  would  not  allow  myself  to  let  him  know  I  care 
as  much  as  I  do.  Kindly  tell  me  if  anyone  who 
has  abused  her  organs  while  so  young  could  make 
a  good  wife  or  become  a  mother,  and  can  these 
marks  of  sin  be  removed?  " 

Another  young  girl  writes,  "  It  is  just  as  you 
say,  ignorance  is  the  root  of  evil  in  many  cases 
such  as  mine.  I  have  come  to  you  for  help,  in- 
formation and  advice.  I  have  taken  that  fatal 
mis-step  you  write  about,  but  no  one  knows  it 
besides  myself  and  this  man.  He  dare  not  speak 
of  this.  He  is  very  wealthy  and  influential. 
After  reading  your  article  I  found  that  you  were 
the  one  to  go  to  and  make  a  confession.  I  never 
have  been  warned  or  told  of  these  dangers  and 
now  it  is  too  late.  I  am  a  young  girl,  eighteen 
years  old,  and  have  a  lot  of  men  friends  because 
I  am  considered  attractive,  but  none  of  them  have 
ever  said  one  word  out  of  the  way  to  me  except 
this  one  and  I  yielded  to  the  tempter.  I  know  I 
have  done  wrong,  and  now  am  trying  to  atone  for 
it  by  being  awfully  good.  Now,  what  I  want  to 
know  and  want  you  to  tell  me  is  this,  '  Can  I  ever 

127 


HERSELF 

marry  a  decent,  respectable  man  without  him 
knowing  of  this  affair?  '  There  is  a  young  man 
very  much  devoted  to  me  (and  I  can  assure  you 
it  is  mutual)  who  several  times  has  asked  me  to 
marry  him.  I  am  afraid  to  give  him  an  answer. 
I  cannot  ask  anyone  else  this  question  for  the 
simple  reason  that  I  am  not  sure  whether  they 
will  tell  me  the  truth  or  whether  they  really 
know." 

Both  these  girls  were  fortunate  that  they  did 
not  have  any  serious  consequences  from  their  mis- 
step. Too  many  girls  make  only  one  mis-step  and 
as  a  result  become  pregnant  or  else  contract  one 
of  the  black  plagues.  This  week  I  have  received 
several  such  letters.  Laying  aside  all  moral 
points,  it  is  too  much  risk  for  any  girl  to  run. 

Unfortunately  a  great  many  girls  in  their 
ignorance  do  make  a  mis-step.  That  is  no  reason 
why  they  should  not  marry.  We  must  take  into 
consideration  the  fact  that  the  young  man  in  ques- 
tion probably  has  made  several  of  these  mis-steps. 
He  should  not  expect  his  prospective  wife  to  be 
any  stronger  to  resist  temptation  than  he  has  been. 
U  this  were  an  ideal  world,  all  men,  as  well  as  all 
women,  would  be  pure,  but  until  the  millennium 

128 


THE  NEED  OF  EARLY  INSTRUCTION 

comes  we  must  take  things  as  they  are,  and  pro- 
ceed from  that  standpoint.  But  because  a  girl 
has  erred  through  ignorance  is  no  reason  why  she 
should  be  doomed  to  everlasting  punishment  in  the 
shape  of  social  ostracism  or  being  denied  the  hap- 
piness of  having  a  home  and  children. 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  many  letters  I  have 
received,  but  they  serve  to  show  the  great  need  of 
early  instruction  of  girls  on  these  much  neglected 
subjects.  Every  girl,  soon  after  she  enters  school 
if  not  before,  learns  where  babies  come  from. 
She  too  often  is  led  by  older  children,  both  boys 
and  girls,  to  do  things  she  may  regret  later.  It 
has  been  said  that  "  sin  is  but  ignorance."  This  is 
true  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  of  immoral 
practices  among  girls  as  well  as  among  boys.  The 
remedy  for  these  cins,  then,  is  to  do  away  with  the 
ignorance  by  proper  instruction  of  children. 
Children  are  reasonable  beings  and  if  they  under- 
stood the  why  would  not  do  wrong. 

If  girls  go  wrong  through  ignorance  the  parents 
are  to  blame;  for  at  the  present  time  there  is  no 
excuse  for  a  parent  not  giving  the  necessary  in- 
struction. If,  on  account  of  her  own  lack  of 
knowledge,  the  mother  feels  incapable  of  instruct- 

129 


HERSELF 

Ing  her  daughter,  there  arc  others  ready  and  will- 
ing to  aid  her;  also,  there  are  books  especially  pre- 
pared for  her  help,  which  will  definitely  point  the 
way- 


130 


CHAPTER  XV 

WHY  GIRLS  GO  ASTRAY 

Not  long  ago  an  estimable  young  woman  in 
speaking  of  the  unfortunate  girls  in  the  world  said, 
"  I  cannot  see  how  any  refined  girl  could  get  into 
trouble.  I  cannot  conceive  of  any  circumstances 
which  would  permit  any  self-respecting  girl  to  al- 
low the  familiarities  necessary  for  such  a  condi- 
tion." That  is  the  attitude  assumed  by  many 
intelligent  women.  Because  they  grew  up  in  an 
environment  without  temptations,  because  they  had 
no  unsatisfied  longings  to  be  loved  or  to  be  popu- 
lar, they  arc  incapable  of  understanding  these 
feelings  in  any  other  person. 

In  every  girl  there  is  an  inborn  longing  to  be 
loved  and  to  have  a  home  of  her  own.  It  is  a 
misunderstanding  of  this  sense  that  is  responsible 
for  the  wrecked  lives  of  many  girls.  In  too  many 
homes  there  is  no  expression  of  the  love  sense. 
Frequently  I  have  heard  girls  remark,  "  Why,  I 

131 


HERSELF 

never  think  of  kissing  my  parents  except,  perhaps, 
when  they  or  I  go  away."  In  too  many  homes 
the  only  mention  that  is  made  of  love  is  that  made 
in  a  bantering  manner.  A  child  has  the  right  idea 
of  love.  She  loves  everyone  and  is  free  in  the 
expression  of  this  love.  As  she  grows  older  she 
obtains  wrong  ideas  of  love  and  she  too  often 
obtains  these  wrong  ideas  in  her  own  home  and 
from  her  own  parents  who  instill  false  ideas  of 
love  when  indulging  their  habit  of  "  teasing." 
Frequently  we  hear  parents  talking  about  the  small 
daughter's  *'  beau."  The  child  feels  pent-up  emo- 
tions of  love  and,  as  there  is  no  outlet  at  home 
in  a  natural  way,  she  acquires  the  idea  that 
these  emotions  should  be  spent  in  a  childish  love 
affair. 

In  a  recent  address  Professor  Marx  Lubine  of 
the  University  of  Berlin  said,  "  Motherhood,  ;n 
all  stages  of  civilization,  has  been  strangely  igno- 
rant of  the  fact  that  girls  have  as  powerful  a  bat- 
tery of  emotions  as  boys.  It  is  my  experience  that 
a  major  portion  of  mothers  understand  their  sons 
better  than  their  daughters.  Why?  The  daugh- 
ters arc  not  given  credit  for  a  power  of  emotion 
the  sons  arc  capable   of.      Yet,   naturally,   in  my 

132 


WHY  GIRLS  GO  ASTRAY 

long  experience  with  both  sexes,  I  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  saying  that  the  emotions  of  a  pure  girl 
are  usually  deeper,  more  lasting,  than  those  of  a 
boy,  and  that  if  we  are  to  have  a  great  improve- 
ment in  womanhood  it  must  come  through  a  recog- 
nition of  this  fact." 

It  is  strange  but  mothers  seem  to  be  blind  to,  or 
ignorant  of  the  emotions  that  are  seething  back  of 
the  clear  eyes  of  their  daughters.  The  emotions 
of  the  girl  have  not  been  studied  sufficiently.  We 
expect  a  boy  to  do  things  which  serve  as  an  outlet 
to  his  pent-up  emotions  but  we  expect  a  girl  to  go 
on  in  a  calm,  uneventful  manner  with  no  outlet  for 
the  overflow  of  emotions.  Blessed  are  the  "  Tom- 
boys." I  would  there  were  more  of  them.  It  is 
a  fact  that  the  girl  who  runs,  plays,  climbs  trees 
and  is  given  to  outdoor  sports  generally  during  the 
early  part  of  her  life  develops  into  the  truest 
woman.  She  has  an  outlet  for  her  energies.  Her 
time  is  fully  occupied  with  those  things  that  pro- 
mote health.  She  has  no  time  nor  desires  for 
those  things  that  show  a  perverted  taste.  Such  a 
girl  seldom  becomes  a  victim  of  self-abuse.  She 
is  not  inclined  to  romantic  love  affairs.  It  is  her 
sister  who  sits  and  sews  who  has  time   and  in- 

^33 


HERSELF 

clination  for  Indulging  in  morbid  longings  and 
who  becomes  the  victim  of  pernicious  habits. 

Curiosity  is  one  of  the  prominent  characteristics 
of  both  sexes.  With  the  boy  this  is  satisfied  with- 
out much  pretence  at  secrecy.  False  modesty  pre- 
vents the  girl  from  openly  obtaining  the 
desired  information.  She  obtains  it  secretly  from 
her  companions.  Mothers  do  not  give  their 
daughters  credit  for  the  instinct  that  compels  the 
satisfaction  of  their  curiosity.  Sometime  during 
her  life,  nearly  every  mother  is  surprised  and 
shocked  at  the  knowledge  displayed  by  her 
daughter.  She  finds  that  owing  to  her  silence  and 
neglect  of  opportunities  her  daughter  has  obtained 
definite  if  entirely  wrong  ideas  of  sexual  matters. 

In  other  matters,  too,  the  policy  of  silence  or 
of  arbitrarily  forbidding  the  daughter  to  indulge 
in  certain  pleasures,  coupled  with  the  natural 
curiosity  of  the  girl,  tends  to  develop  in  her  the 
habit  of  deceitfulness.  If  she  is  forbidden  some 
harmless  amusements  she  very  frequently  learns 
these  diversions  at  the  homes  of  her  friends.  The 
mother  was  brought  up  in  one  generation,  the 
daughter  in  another;  what  was  considered  wrong 
in  the  first  generation   is  looked  upon   in  an  cn- 

134 


WHY  GIRLS  GO  ASTRAY 

tircly  different  manner  now.  Many  mothers 
seem  to  be  unable  to  realize  this.  They  were 
brought  up  in  a  puritanical  environment.  The 
puritan  fathers  forbade  all  indulgence  in  mirth 
and  happiness.  Their  ideas  of  the  perfect  life 
were  to  wear  a  stern,  unsmiling  countenance  and 
do  those  things  that  were  unpleasant.  If  anything 
was  uncongenial,  then  it  was  their  duty  to  over- 
come their  inclinations.  These  puritans  expected 
to  develop  by  repression.  We  have  changed  our 
ideas  radically  since  then,  but  some  of  the  puritan- 
ical ideas  still  cling  to  us  in  our  treatment  of 
children.  To  develop  the  child's  character  she 
must  be  made  to  do  the  things  she  does  not  want 
to  do  and  to  refrain  from  the  things  she  most  de- 
sires.    Is  it  right? 

We  are  most  interested  in  those  things  that 
belong  to  us  individually  or  in  which  we  have 
some  share.  If  we  wish  a  girl  to  remain  at  home 
then  we  must  see  that  she  is  interested  in  that 
home.  The  way  to  do  this  is  to  make  her  feel 
that  the  home  belongs  to  her  in  part  and  that 
some  portions  of  it  are  entirely  hers.  The 
majority  of  girls  feel  no  real  interest  in  their 
homes.     They  are  made  to   feel  that  it   is  their 

^■35. 


HERSELF 

parents'  home  and  that  they  are  only  assistants. 
A  girl  to  be  interested  in  her  home  must  have  some 
definite  room  that  is  hers  alone  and  in  which  she  is 
allowed  to  exercise  her  individual  tastes.  She 
must  have  a  place  in  which  she  can  entertain  her 
friends  without  the  feeling  that  whatever  she  does 
and  says  is  to  be  criticised  afterwards.  She  should 
be  assigned  to  certain  tasks  and  held  responsible 
for  them.  She  must  have  a  certain  definite  al- 
lowance out  of  which  she  is  to  buy  certain  things, 
otherwise  her  desire  for  independence  will  arise 
and  cause  her  to  leave  home.  The  majority  of 
girls  have  no  income  of  their  own.  Perhaps  their 
desires  are  all  fulfilled  by  an  indulgent  parent  and 
yet  the  girls  resent  the  feeling  of  dependence. 

Girls  are  naturally  just  as  ambitious  as  boys, 
and  they  need  good,  honest  work  to  keep  them 
healthy  and  their  minds  occupied.  If  a  girl  dis- 
plays an  interest  in  a  certain  line  of  work  this 
interest  must  be  encouraged.  Usually  it  is  not. 
The  girl  is  taught,  either  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciously, that  whatever  occupation  she  takes  up 
will  be  only  temporary,  that  to  become  engrossed 
in  her  work  would  mean  no  marriage.  Girls  can- 
not do  good  work  under  such  conditions. 

136 


CHAPTER  XVI 

SELF-ABUSE 

In  one  of  my  articles  for  one  of  the  leading 
women's  magazines  I  spoke  of  mental  self-abuse. 
This  brought  me  so  many  inquiries  regarding  both 
mental  and  physical  self-abuse  that  I  feel  impelled 
to  explain  them  to  you. 

To  abuse  means  to  use  wrongly,  or  to  Injure. 
Wc  have  talked  about  the  uses  of  the  female 
organs  and  also  about  the  care  of  them.  Some- 
times, I  have  watched  children  rub  their  eves 
until  they  were  quite  red  and  inflamed.  I  have 
seen  children,  thoughtlessly,  stick  pins  and  hair- 
pins in  their  ears  and  I  even  have  had  to  remove 
a  bean  which  a  thoughtless  child  had  pushed  up 
its  nose.  All  these  things  did  more  or  less  harm 
to  the  parts.  In  the  same  way,  some  girls  play 
with  their  external  generative  organs  and  even 
put  things  up  in  the  vagina.  Sometimes  they  in- 
jure these   organs   greatly,   and   sometimes   there 

137 


HERSELF 

is  a  more  general  and  serious  effect.  You  know 
the  nerves  of  the  body  all  are  very  closely  con- 
nected like  telegraph  wires  so  that  an  irritation 
to  one  part  will  sometimes  be  telegraphed  to  an- 
other entirely  different  part  and  cause  the  nerves 
of  that  part  to  be  irritated.  When  you  have  a 
toothache  your  whole  face  and  head  and  even 
your  arms  ache.  That  is  because  the  nerves  are 
irritated.  In  the  same  way  if  one  irritates  the 
nerves  of  the  female  organs,  the  whole  body  may 
be  affected;  only  in  this  case  it  is  more  serious  than 
with  the  toothache;  for  these  female  organs  arc 
n>ore  abundantly  supplied  with  nerves. 

One  who  is  guilty  of  such  an  unnatural  prac- 
tice as  to  deliberately  irritate  any  portion  of  her 
body,  especially  the  very  important  generative  or- 
gans, always  secretly  despises  herself.  If  per- 
sisted in,  the  results  of  this  vice  arc  a  ruined 
nervous  system  and  a  weakened  character.  The 
victim  realizes  she  is  doing  a  disgraceful  thing  and 
seldom  acknowledges  her  habit  even  to  her 
physician. 

If  one  has  become  a  victim  of  such  a  habit  she 
should  determine  to  stop  it  immediately  and  then 
take   measures  to  restore  her  nervous  system  to 

'38 


SELF-ABUSE 

its  original  state.  It  never  is  too  late  to  com- 
mence treatment.  It  Is  the  continued  practice  and 
the  mental  dwelling  on  the  acts  that  does  the 
harm,  not  the  few  acts  thoughtlessly  performed. 
Of  course  the  longer  the  habit  has  continued,  the 
more  firmly  it  Is  fixed  and  the  harder  to  break. 

The  treatment  is  first  to  absolutely  stop  the 
practice,  then  fill  your  mind  with  other  thoughts. 
Take  considerable  physical  exercise  in  the  open 
air.  Sleep  on  a  hard  bed  in  a  well-ventilated 
room.  Eat  plain,  nourishing  food  without  spices 
and  stimulants.  Take  up  some  work  or  play  that 
will  interest  you  and  that  will  keep  your  mind  oc- 
cupied. Live  in  the  open  air  as  much  as  possible. 
If  you  find  yourself  desiring  to  do  these  harmful 
things,  go  immediately  and  busy  your  mind  and 
hands  with  something  else  and  the  desire  will  pass 
soon.  In  young  children  this  habit  often  has  its 
origin  in  some  irritation  of  the  external  organs,  as 
a  hooded  clitoris.  So  before  taking  severe  meas- 
ures to  break  the  habit,  it  is  wise  to  have  the  child 
examined  for  such  a  condition. 

Now  as  to  mental  self-abuse,  perhaps  I  can 
make  my  meaning  more  clear  by  again  quoting 
from  some  of  my  letters.     A  young  woman  from 

139 


HERSELF 

South  Carolina  wrote  me,  "  A  few  years  ago  I 
taught  school  and  one  of  my  pupils,  perfectly  in- 
nocent of  the  grave  results  that  would  befall  her, 
committed  three  outrages  upon  herself,  what  is 
known  in  the  medical  world  as  masturbation  or 
self-abuse.  The  girl,  as  I  know,  was  chaste  and 
a  sweeter,  nicer,  brighter  pupil  I  never  taught. 
But  she  had  the  misfortune  to  commit  these  abuses 
upon  herself  in  all  innocence  and  felt  no  discom- 
fort or  ill  health  in  any  way  until  about  three 
months  afterward.  Then  she  began  to  lose  in- 
terest in  her  work,  to  fall  away  in  her  grades,  in 
fact  to  take  very  little  interest  in  anything.  In 
this  condition  she  came  to  me  and  told  me  every- 
thing. Since  then  she  has  felt  no  physical  pain 
whatever,  but  her  mind,  though  not  really  gone, 
is  visibly  affected.  In  this  way,  she  is  constantly 
in  dread  lest  something  dreadful  will  happen, 
ieels  as  if  a  cloud  were  hanging  over  her,  is  not 
capable  of  doing  any  mental  work.  At  times,  has 
1  horror  of  being  shut  up  in  any  place,  memory  is 
poor,  places  and  positions  change,  that  is,  a  place 
moves  to  some  other  position,  for  instance,  the 
right  "Side  of  the  street  very  often  is  in  the  op- 
posite direction.     To  sum  it  all  up,  she  constantly 

140 


SELF-ABUSE 

is  miserable.  So  far  as  being  insane  is  concerned, 
she  is  not  that.  She  is  perfectly  conscious  of  her 
condition.  She  feels  well  physically  and  appears 
to  be  so  mentally,  but  says  there  is  just  a  befogged 
sensation  in  her  head  which  gets  no  better  nor 
worse,  yet  it  is  there.  The  feeling  came  upon 
her  very  suddenly  one  morning  in  the  spring  after 
the  abuses  had  taken  place  in  January  and  then 
it  all  flashed  over  her  the  awfui  consequences  of 
her  Innocent  practices.  Oh!  what  would  she  not 
have  given  to  be  her  old  self  again!  If  she  only 
had  known  the  awful  result,  her  mind  sacrificed 
for  a  practice  in  which  she  Indulged  through 
ignorance  and  for  experiment,  never  dreaming  the 
baneful  effect  it  would  have  on  her  mind.  Now, 
this  girl  has  gone  on  this  way  for  the  past  eight 
years  getting  no  worse  nor  any  better.  Seemingly, 
she  is  the  same  but  she  suffers  untold  miseries  when 
alone,  conscious  that  her  mind  is  hazy  and  not 
capable  of  enjoying  books,  society  of  others  or 
anything  that  Interests  young  girls.  Yet  nobody 
ever  would  detect  that  she  is  not  feeling  well. 
She  told  me  all  this  In  confidence  and  as  the  case 
puzzles  me,  I  write  you  feeling  that  perhaps  you 
would  advise  me  in  some  way  the  treatment  nec- 

141 


HERSELF 

cssary  to  cure  her.  She  Is  and  has  been  perfectly 
moral  since  the  fateful  abuses  upon  herself  and  I 
do  not  understand  why  her  mind  does  not  return 
to  its  normal  condition." 

I  do!  She  will  not  give  her  mind  a  chance 
to  get  well.  She  constantly  is  abusing  it  by  dwell- 
ing on  things  that  should  have  been  forgotten  long 
ago.  No  one  goes  through  life  without  making 
some  mistakes.  Everyone  has  burned  his  finger 
many  times.  And  yet  he  does  not  keep  worrying 
about  it  and  wondering  if  It  will  have  some  dan- 
gerous after-effect.  Of  course,  if  he  deliberately 
burned  his  finger  time  and  time  again,  It  might 
remain  injured  permanently.  But  if  he,  igno- 
rantly  or  accidentally,  has  burned  it  once  or 
several  times,  he  stops  his  careless  ways,  allows 
Nature  to  restore  the  injured  portion,  and  then 
forgets  there  ever  was  an  injury.  It  is  the  same 
with  self-abuse,  many  children  do  things  like  this 
thoughtlessly.  But  when  a  girl  learns  she  is  in- 
juring herself,  she  should  stop  the  practice  and 
allow  Nature  to  repair  the  wound.  Then  forget 
all  about  It.  Do  not  worry,  above  all  things.  Go 
ahead  and  fill  your  mind  with  work. 

There  are  many  women  in  this  world  who  arc 

142 


SELF-ABUSE 

abusing  themselves  by  worrying  over  something 
that  has  occurred  in  the  past.  Whatever  is  in  the 
past  cannot  be  undone.  All  we  can  do  is  to  profit 
by  our  experience  and  turn  the  energies,  that  would 
be  wasted  by  worrying,  to  some  good  use.  When- 
ever thoughts  of  the  past  or  desires  for  the  wrong 
things  disturb  you,  crowd  these  worry  thoughts 
and  desires  out  of  your  mind  by  putting  in  it 
good  thoughts.  Deliberately  fill  your  mind  and 
hands  so  full  of  other  things  that  there  will  be  no 
room  for  these  unwholesome  pests.  Worry  does 
more  harm  than  smallpox  ever  did! 

This  dwelling  on  past  mistakes  is  only  one  of 
several  methods  of  mental  self-abuse.  Another 
way  some  abuse  themselves  Is  by  continuing  the 
association  with  those  who  excite  or  irritate  them. 
If  in  your  work  or  social  life  you  find  that  a  cer- 
tain person  has  an  effect  upon  you  that  is  not 
wholesome,  that  when  you  are  in  the  company  of 
that  individual  you  are  incapable  of  doing  your 
best,  then  it  is  time  to  make  a  change.  Keep 
away  from  that  individual  until  such  a  time  as 
you  are  strong  enough  to  resist  his  influence. 
Choose  your  friends  from  among  those  who  stim- 
ulate you  mentally.      If  you  stop  to  think,  you  must 

143 


HERSELF 

admit  that  you  accomplish  more  and  better  work 
when  in  the  presence  of  certain  people.  Those 
are  the  ones  whose  companionship  you  should  seek. 

There  are  people  living  together  or  working 
together  who  are  a  continual  source  of  Irritation 
to  each  other.  It  is  just  as  impossible  for  such 
people  to  work  in  harmony  as  it  is  for  two  In- 
compatible chemicals,  as  nitrogen  and  iodine.  We 
do  not  try  to  over-ride  the  laws  of  Nature  by 
trying  to  force  these  chemicals  to  stay  together. 
It  Is  just  as  Impossible  to  force  certain  Incompatible 
people  to  be  harmonious.  If  society  or  business 
throws  two  such  people  together  it  would  be  wise 
for  one  to  m^.ke  a  change  before  there  is  an  ex- 
plosion. It  is  impossible  for  any  person  to  do 
good  work  in  an  atmosphere  of  irritation. 

Another  element  in  mental  self-abuse  is  longing 
for  the  unattainable.  Sometimes  a  person  sets 
her  mind  on  a  certain  thing.  If  that  goal  is  an 
honorable  one,  she  should  make  every  effort  to  at- 
tain it  but  if  circumstances  over  which  she  has  no 
control  make  that  goal  Impossible  of  attainment 
she  should  turn  her  thoughts  In  another  direction. 
But  that  is  what  many  people  do  not  do.  If  they 
cannot   have   just   what   they   want   they   sit   and 

144 


SELF-ABUSE 

bemoan  their  fate  and  give  up  trying  for  other 
goals.  Such  a  person  should  choose  a  line  of 
work  or  play  that  is  especially  interesting  to  her 
and  bend  her  energies  in  that  direction.  She  will 
be  surprised  how  soon  she  will  lose  her  intens/e 
interest  in  her  former  longed-for  goal. 

Lack  of  self-confidence  is  an  evidence  of  mental 
self-abuse.  A  person  who  has  no  confidence  in 
herself  cannot  expect  others  to  have.  One  who 
keeps  herself  in  the  attitude  of  Uriah  Heap,  who 
continually  asserts,  "  I  am  a  poor  worm,  I  am 
unworthy  of  the  blessings  of  life,  I  cannot  expect 
great  reward,"  must  expect  to  be  taken  at  her 
word.  In  this  age  a  man  (or  woman)  is  valued^ 
in  a  large  measure,  by  the  estimate  he  sets  upon 
himself.  Honors  are  not  thrust  upon  a  man  un- 
less he  shows  the  self-confidence  which  commands 
confidence.  Bacon  said,  "  Some  are  born  great, 
some  achieve  greatness  and  some  have  greatness 
thrust  upon  them."  But  those  of  the  last  class 
are  very  few.  Our  enemies  are  willing  to  thrust 
upon  us  scandal  and  humiliation  whenever  there 
is  a  possible  chance,  but  our  friends  are  verv  slow 
in  thrusting  honors  upon  us.  If  a  person  wants 
anything  in  this  world  he  must  first  convince  him- 

145 


HERSELF 

of  has  ability  to  attain  that  goal,  dKO  he  may 
be  alile  to  csonnce  others.  It  is  the  man  with  ccm- 
fidcBcs  in  InBiself  who  wins  the  day. 

After  one  bas  dedded  upon  his  goal  he  sbcmld 
keep  liiat  goal  always  before  him  as  die  pillar  of 
fire  before  the.  seekers  for  the  promised  land-  All 
oxzr  thwi^rts  dhnold  be  in  that  direction.  Efctv 
whh  or  ll»iwigl»t  we  send  out  reaches  someone  and 
m  Uaat  rriEv  bii^  as  what  we  wish.  **  By  faith 
jic  am  z^zcompbsh.  aO.  tbmg^' ' 

Hktc  is  ar  £3.-planatinn  of  "  Who  answen 
*  which  dt;  -  ■  e  a  motker  kneeling  by  the 
of  her  sicit  Daby,  and  praying  faith  fuDy 
'  bsdijr  ai^at.  be  restored  to  health.  In  a 
vifiiiHi  ihc  awrtluM  sees  diCK  prayer  thoog^its  radiat- 
ing jEraoi  Ac  nuMther  like  in-risible  telegraph  wires, 
ala^g  vbidi  tbc  menage  is  carried  to  rarions  parts 
0i  die  atf.  Qdc  wire  readies  the  home  of  a 
tm'nmmm  irfio,  akhoo^  willing,  feels  his  inabifity 
La  answer.  Aoodica'  wire  reaches  the  home  of  a 
wealthy  bndcer  bat  be,  too,  is  powerless  to  help. 
The  next  wire  is  cooaaect^d  with  the  home  of  a 
prannincnt  lawyer  famons  for  his  ability  to  wm 
cases  iar  tht  acedy,  bat  in  this  case  he  cannot  win, 
for    Deadi  is  more  powerful   than   he.     But  a 

146 


-  ;  -    ■,  -  « 


■  :-.?*s  seit; 


i4/ 


HERSELF 

and  there  forget  self  and  your  troubles.  "  It  is 
more  blessed  to  give  than  receive  "  is  a  truth  that 
all  serene  and  great  souls  recognize  and  practice 
throughout  their  lives. 


148 


CHAPTER  XVII 

EFFECTS  OF  IMMORAL  LIFE 

Some  time  ago,  the  general  public  was  shocked 
by  a  newspaper  story  of  the  life  led  by  many  girl 
clerks  in  the  department  stores  of  a  large  city. 
It  seems  a  young  girl  from  the  country  applied 
for  a  position  in  one  of  the  stores,  but  upon  hearing 
of  the  small  wages  paid,  said,  "  How  can  I  live 
on  that?  It  would  not  provide  even  the  most 
meager  of  board  and  the  smallest  room.."  The 
employer  asked  In  reply,  "  But  have  you  not  a 
gentleman  friend?"  That  reply,  repeated  to  a 
social  worker,  started  an  investigation  which  re- 
sulted in  startling  revelations.  It  was  found  that 
many  of  the  stores  paid  such  small  salaries  that  to 
live  on  them  at  all  was  an  impossibility  for  even 
the  most  economical.  It  was  an  understood  fact 
that  each  girl  was  expected  to  receive  help  from 
some  *'  gentleman  friend." 

There  must  be  something  wrong  In  our  whole 

149 


HERSELF 

system  of  living  when  girls  are  compelled  to  work 
for  salaries  Insufficient  for  even  the  necessities  and 
arc  taught  to  have  tastes  and  desires  for  the 
beautiful  which  it  is  impossible  to  gratify  on  their 
meager  salaries.  A  young  girl  goes  to  work  in 
an  office  or  store  with  a  definite,  If  not  expressed, 
understanding  of  what  should  be  the  proper  re- 
lations of  the  sexes.  After  she  has  been  at  work 
a  short  time  she  notices  that  her  companions  arc 
much  better  dressed  than  it  is  possible  for  her  to  be 
with  the  resources  at  her  command.  She  notices 
that  her  friends  have  numerous  invitations  to 
theatres  and  dinners.  She  wonders  if  she  is  less 
attractive  than  they.  After  awhile  she  receives 
hints,  more  or  less  broad,  from  her  male  as- 
sociates. Gradually  it  dawns  upon  her  why  the 
other  girls  are  more  attractive  than  she. 

One  who  has  not  been  thrown  In  close  contact 
with  the  girls  of  this  age  cannot  realize  the  ex- 
tent of  the  immorality  among  them.  Formerly 
it  was  considered  that  only  boys  sowed  their  wild 
oats.  Now  we  find  that  many  girls  do  so  also. 
Wc  hear  very  little  about  It  except  for  the  oc- 
casional case  of  one  who  has  to  suffer  for  her  sins. 
Usually   this   one   is   one   of   the    most   innocent. 

150 


EFFECTS  OF  IMMORAL  LIFE 

Many  of  the  girls  of  this  generation  are  "  wise." 
They  think  they  know  how  to  "  keep  out  of 
trouble,"  and  yet  reap  the  rewards  in  the  shape  of 
a  few  dollars. 

Girls  cannot  afford  to  take  the  great  risks  in- 
cident to  leading  an  immoral  life,  aside  from  all 
moral  reasons  for  not  doing  so.  In  the  first  place 
there  is  the  danger  of  becoming  pregnant.  Think 
what  that  means!  The  majority  of  girls  are  led 
to  take  the  first  step  by  promises  of  marriage. 
Real  life  has  proved  these  promises  seldom  are 
kept  The  man  "  changes  "  his  mind  after  the 
mis-step  has  been  taken.  He  goes  away  and  for- 
gets, the  girl  is  left  to  bear  the  consequences  of 
their  mutual  sin.  The  men  of  the  world  like  to 
take  these  girls  out  and  enjoy  themselves  but  when 
it  comes  to  marriage  —  the  man  wants  a  different 
kind  of  a  wife.  There  arc  three  courses  from 
which  such  an  unfortunate  girl  may  choose.  One 
course  is  an  abortion  with  all  its  attendant  dangers, 
its  risks  to  her  life  and  the  thoughts  of  having 
taken  a  life.  Another  is  to  brave  the  world,  bear 
her  child  and  keep  it.  It  takes  a  great  deal  of 
courage  to  do  this  with  our  present  social  system. 
Often  it  is  impossible,  as  the  girl  is  unable  to  care 

151 


HERSELF 

for  the  cHlld  and  at  the  same  time  support  It  and 
herself.  She  seldom  finds  very  much  encourage- 
ment in  this  course.  Those  who  should  be  her 
friends  and  aid  her  to  make  the  most  of  her  life 
are  now  the  ones  who  keep  her  down.  They  re- 
fuse to  make  it  possible  for  her  to  earn  an  honest 
living  and  lead  a  moral  life.  The  third  course  is 
to  place  herself  under  the  care  of  a  responsible  phy- 
sician, live  in  seclusion  for  the  last  few  months  of 
her  pregnancy,  then,  after  the  birth  of  her  baby, 
have  it  adopted.  Considering  everything,  this 
often  is  the  best  course.  From  the  child's  stand- 
point, it  is  given  a  better  start  in  life.  It  is  much 
better  to  live  as  the  adopted,  but  honored,  child 
in  a  home  than  it  is  to  have  to  bear  the  stigma  of 
illegitimacy.  As  soon  as  the  child  enters  school 
the  latter  will  become  known  among  Its  playmates 
and  will  be  the  subject  of  many  cruel  taunts.  It 
is  not  fair  to  the  innocent  child  to  give  it  such  a 
heritage.  But  think  how  the  mothers  must  feel 
to  have  to  give  up  their  babies  I  That  is  the 
saddest  part  of  the  case.  It  is  not  fair  that  the 
girl  should  be  punished  the  remainder  of  her  life 
for   one    mis-step    when    the    man    goes    absolutely 

152 


EFFECTS  OF  IMMORAL  LIFE 

free  and  without  the  sign  of  a  stigma  attached  to 
him. 

These  cases  of  unfortunate  girls  are  all  too 
common.  The  rescue  homes  in  the  large  cities  are 
full,  and  often  a  large  percentage  of  their  occu- 
pants are  from  the  country.  Within  the  last 
week,  I  have  received  letters  from  four  girls,  sim- 
ilar to  the  one  I  shall  read  ycu.  This  letter  is 
from  a  girl  in  Indiana  who  gives  a  rural  delivery 

address.     "  In  one  of  your  articles  in  you 

speak  of  homes  where  unfortunate  girls  are 
sheltered  and  taken  care  of  and  I  should  like  to 
know  if  there  is  such  a  home  in  Indianapolis.  If 
there  is,  will  you  kindly  give  me  the  street  and 
number.  I  am  in  trouble  and  have  nowhere  to 
go,  but  knowing  you  to  be  a  friend  to  unfortunate 
girls  who  met  their  misfortune  through  ignorance 
and  with  no  desire  to  do  wrong,  I  write  you  for 
advice."  This,  as  well  as  numerous  other  letters, 
show  that  these  things  are  just  as  prevalent  in 
the  country  districts  as  in  the  cities. 

So  many  girls  do  not  realize  how  easy  it  is  to 
"  get  into  trouble."  A  short  time  ago  I  had  a 
confinement  case  that  was  a  little  unusual;  for  the 

^S3 


HERSELF 

young  woman,  who  was  unmarried,  had  an  un- 
ruptured hymen,  which  contained  only  one  small 
opening  barely  large  enough  to  insert  a  sound  the 
size  of  a  slate  pencil.  At  the  first  consultation 
several  months  previous,  when  she  had  come  to 
me  on  account  of  absence  of  menstruation  for  three 
months,  the  girl  had  insisted  that  there  was  no  pos- 
sibility of  her  being  pregnant.  Later  she  admitted 
that  four  months  previously,  just  after  she  men- 
struated, she  was  out  with  a  young  man  who  was 
very  insistent,  that  she  did  not  consent,  but  in  spite 
of  her  resistance  there  was  a  discharge  thrown 
against  the  labia  (external  organs).  At  the  time 
of  this  first  examination  she  was  about  four  months 
pregnant  and  had  not  supposed  such  a  condition 
of  affairs  possible.  Fortunately  in  this  case  there 
was  an  early  marriage. 

Another  grave  danger  to  the  girl  who  indulges 
in  immoral  practices  is  the  possibility  of  contract- 
ing one  of  the  black  plagues.  You  know  what 
that  wonld  mean.  If  you  recall  the  prevalence  of 
these  diseases  you  will  see  that  the  probabilities 
arc  that  any  girl  indulging  in  immoral  relations 
wil  soo»er  or  later  contract  one  of  these  diseases. 

154 


EFFECTS  OF  IMMORAL  LIFE 

Indeed  she  runs  a  big  risk  of  contracting  one  at  her 
first  mis-step. 

After  one  has  taken  the  first  mis-step  it  Is  very- 
easy  to  take  the  next.  One  step  often  leads  to 
another  until  the  girl  succumbs  to  a  life  of  prostitu- 
tion. A  result  of  prostitution  that  Is  Important 
is  the  unfitting  for  regular  life.  Whatever  the 
effect  of  such  a  life  may  be  upon  a  man,  a  girl  can- 
not lead  such  a  life  with  impunity.  Many  a  girl 
tires  of  her  immoral  life  and  gladly  would  turn 
to  something  else  but  the  difficulties  in  her  way  are 
numerous.  One  is  her  inability  to  obtain  a  position 
when  it  is  known  that  she  has  led  an  immoral  life. 
Another  is  that  she  finds  the  duties  and  regular 
hours  Incident  to  any  position  very  irksome.  The 
irregular  life  she  has  led  has  unfitted  her  for  a 
regular  life.  There  seems  to  have  been  a  general 
disturbance  of  the  whole  nervous  system,  her  will 
has  become  so  weakened  that  it  is  very  hard  for 
her  to  have  the  will  power  necessary  to  keep  from 
returning  to  the  old  life.  This  breaking  of  the 
will  power  also  makes  it  difficult  for  her  to  keep 
her  mind  on  her  work.  Then,  too,  she  resents 
any    supervision    of   her   work.     Of    course,    the 

^5S 


HERSELF 

longer  the  irregular  life  has  continued  the  harder 
it  is  to  break,  away  from  it. 

Now,  from  another  standpoint !  No  matter 
how  dissipated  a  man  may  be  he  wants  his  bride 
to  be  pure.  Nearly  all  girls  expect  to  marry 
sometime,  and  so  for  the  sake  of  the  future  —  in 
order  to  keep  the  confidence  of  her  husband  as 
well  as  for  the  sake  of  not  taking  any  risks  that 
might  prevent  future  motherhood,  girls  should  not 
lead  immoral  lives, 


156 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

FLIRTATIONS  AND  THEIR  RESULTS 

The  greater  social  freedom  of  the  present  gen- 
eration without  adequate  preparation  has  resulted 
in  an  increasing  tendency  among  young  girls  to 
make  chance  acquaintances  and  perhaps  clandes- 
tine engagements.  That  these  flirtations,  entered 
into  so  innocently,  may  result  in  events  that  will 
be  the  cause  of  life-long  regret  is  seldom  realized 
by  a  young  girl.     Yet  very  often  such  is  the  case  1 

One  letter  I  received  says,  "  I  will  give  you  a 
short  outline  of  my  life  since  last  April  when  my 
troubles  began,  for  which  I  blame  my  parents 
partly,  because  I  was  not  allowed  to  have  my 
friends  at  my  home  or  go  out  with  young  men,  as 
the  other  girls  do,  with  my  parents'  knowledge  of 
it  and  because  I  was  kept  ignorant  of  the  things  I 
think  every  girl  should  know.  I  was  nineteen 
last  March.  The  men  say  I  am  the  kind  that 
looks  good  to  men,  that  they  cannot  resist.     As  to 

157 


HERSELF 

this  I  do  not  know,  but  I  do  know  that  I  always 
attract  their  attentions  and  I  am  sorry  that  I  do. 
And  yet  I  crave  them.     I  have  for  years  and  I  am 
lonesome  without  them.     I  want  their  friendship 
and  company.     I  do  not  know  why  it  is  but  I  am 
more  satisfied  with  the  boys  than  the  girls.     Last 
April  a  young  man,  somewhere  in  the  thirties,  I 
think,  though  he  looked  much  younger,  came  to 
our  little  country  town.     He  was  handsome,  well 
educated,  finely  dressed  and  always  seemed  to  have 
plenty  of  money.     I  was  very  unhappy  about  this 
time  over  my  troubles  at  home  and  because  my 
boy  friend,  who  always  had  been  a  friend  through 
all,  had  for  some  cause  unknown  to  mc  stopped 
writing  to  me.     So  I  met  the  young  man  first  in 
company  with  friends  a  couple  of  times,  then  he 
wished  to  make  an  appointment  to  meet  me  alone 
and,  through  the  kindness  of  my  friends,   I  met 
him  out  at  night  several  times.     On  the  third  night 
before  I  half  realized  what  I  was  doing  I  had  let 
him  ruin  mc.      I   had  never  been   told  that  this 
was  wrong  and  yet  I  seemed  to  know  that  it  was. 
It  worried  mc,  but  there  was  no  one  I  could  go  to 
for  advice  and  my  friend  said  that  since  what  was 
done  already  could  never  be  undone  I   might  as 

158 


FLIRTATIONS  AND  THEIR  RESULTS 

well  keep  It  up,  etc.  Having  no  advice  but  his, 
I  followed  It  and  for  several  weeks  met  him  out 
any  and  every  where  and  time  I  could.  I  knew  of 
the  trouble  that  might  come  from  these  meetings 
and  asked  my  friend  about  It  but  he  said  that 
everything  was  all  right,  that  he  would  tend  to 
that  and  that  nothing  would  happen.  But  It  did 
happen.  He  was  going  away  In  a  few  days  and 
gave  me  some  medicine  to  take,  telling  me  I  was 
only  held  back  on  account  of  It  being  the  first 
time.  But  I  didn't  believe  him  and  went  to  a 
married  lady  whom  I  had  known  but  a  short  time 
but  whom  I  thought  I  could  trust  and  who  would 
help  me.  She  Invited  my  friend  and  me  there 
one  evening  and  talked  the  matter  over  with  us  or 
rather  with  him.  He  stayed  over  and  helped  me 
out  of  my  trouble.  But  my  health  has  never  been 
the  same  since.  Now,  what  I  want  to  ask  you 
is  this,  do  you  think  It  would  be  right  for  me  to 
marry  any  man,  with  him  thinking  that  I  am  good 
or  Innocent?  Do  men  expect  that  of  the  women 
they  marry?  But  I  do  not  wish  to  marry  If  I 
can  help  It,  but  I  must  do  something.  I  will  go 
crazy  if  I  stay  here  at  home  from  worrying  over 
what  I  have  done  and  for  fear  my  parents  will 

159 


HERSELF 

find  it  out.  What  I  wish  to  do  is  to  go  away  to 
work,  but  I  have  no  one  to  go  to  and  am  afraid 
I  cannot  resist  the  temptations  that  they  say  come 
to  every  working  girl.  I  have  given  in  twice  since 
my  trouble,  both  times  shortly  afterwards.  The 
first  because  I  could  not  help  it  and  the  second 
because  I  was  afraid  of  being  told  on,  he  having 
been  told  by  the  first  man.  But  when  I  found  out 
I  could  not  resist  the  teasing  I  quit  going  out  and 
it  has  been  months  smce  I  have  been  out  with  a 
man  and  I  am  trying  to  lead  a  decent  life  but  it  is 
hard  and  at  times  it  seems  that  I  must  give  in. 
Now,  please  write  and  tell  m.e  just  exactly  what 
you  think  of  my  case.  Has  my  whole  life  been 
ruined  by  this  man?  " 

Unless  this  girl  will  "  play  soldier  "  and  "  right 
about  face  "  she  is  in  danger  of  landing  in  a  house 
of  ill-fame.  How  common  is  her  story  1  Girls 
do  not  realize  what  are  the  possible  results  that 
may  follow  an  innocent  flirtation.  Young  girls 
are  not  posted  and  they  do  not  know  men.  They 
do  not  realize  the  pressure  that  will  be  brought  to 
bear  upon  them.  Many  young  girls  grow  to 
womanhood  without  any  idea  of  the  relations  ol 
the  sexes.     To  them,  love  is  devoid  of  ideas  of 

I  60 


FLIRTATIONS  AND  THEIR  RESULTS 

sex,  practically  the  same  as  their  love  for  a  brother 
or  sister.  It  is  not  until  they  are  thrown  alone  in 
the  company  of  some  older  man  that  they  suddenly 
awaken  to  a  realization  of  what  it  all  means. 

The  girls  who  like  to  be  petted,  to  be  kissed  and 
hugged  can  see  no  harm  in  that  and  do  not  realize 
what  a  sleeping  force  may  be  aroused.  The  man, 
when  he  finds  a  girl  will  allow  these  attentions, 
thinks  that  she  knows  what  they  may  lead  to  and 
naturally  assumes  that  she  is  willing,  but  only 
wishes  to  be  coaxed.  It  is  a  clear  case  of  mis- 
understanding on  both  sides.  But  that  does  not 
make  the  consequences  any  less  harmful. 

Girls  do  not  realize  what  kind  of  an  Impression 
they  make  upon  men  by  their  clothes,  actions,  etc. 
An  eminent  lawyer  said  to  me  recently,  "  Why 
do  you  not  tell  girls  what  real  men  think  of  them 
when  they  appear  on  the  streets  with  painted 
faces,  peek-a-boo  waists  and  thin,  silk  hose  worn 
with  shoes  more  appropriate  for  the  ball-room? 
if  girls  imitate  the  demi-monde  In  their  dress  they 
must  expect  to  be  treated  accordingly."  There  is 
in  every  girl's  nature  a  desire  to  appear  attractive 
in  the  eyes  of  those  of  the  opposite  sex  and  this 
desire  leads  them  to  extremes  of  dressing.     These 

i6i 


HERSELF 

extremes  of  dressing  naturally  attract  the  attention 
of  men,  and  the  girls  feel  flattered  and  continue  in 
their  course,  not  realizing  what  impression  the  men 
really  get.  Then,  when  the  man  makes  the  ad- 
vances that  her  manner  of  dressing  has  led  him 
to  believe  he  can  make,  she  feels  insulted  and  re- 
sentful. 

The  fault  lies  In  the  fact  that  the  girl  has  not 
been  properly  educated  and  has  received  exag- 
gerated and  entirely  wrong  ideas  of  life. 


162 


CHAPTER  XIX 

WHITE    SLAVERY 

During  the  past  few  years  the  public  has  been 
much  interested  in  the  prosecution  of  the  white 
slave  investigation.  Every  adult  person  had  a 
more  or  less  definite  idea  that  there  were  in  exist- 
ence immoral  houses.  But  the  majority  of  women 
had  no  idea  that  their  existence  should  be  of  any 
especial  interest  to  them. 

The  Hon.  Edwin  Sims,  U.  S.  District  Attorney, 
Chicago,  says:  "There  are  some  things  so  far 
removed  from  the  lives  of  normal,  decent  people 
as  to  be  simply  unbelievable  by  them.  The  '  white 
slave  '  trade  of  to-day  is  one  of  these  incredible 
things.  The  calmest,  simplest  statements  of  its 
facts  are  almost  beyond  the  comprehension  of  be- 
lief of  men  and  women  who  are  mercifully  spared 
from  contact  with  the  dark  and  hideous  secrets  of 
the  '  under-world  '  of  the  big  cities. 

"  Naturally,  wisely,  every  parent  who  reads  this 

163 


HERSELF 

statement  will  at  once  raise  the  question :     '  What 
excuse  is  there  for  the  open  discussion  of  such  a  re- 
volting condition  of  things?     What  good  is  there 
to  be  served  by  flaunting  so  dark  and  disgusting  a 
subject  before  the   family  circle?'     Only  one  — 
and  that  is  a  reason  and  not  an  excuse  1     The  re- 
cent examination  of  more  than  two  hundred  '  white 
slaves  '  by  the  office  of  the  U.  S.  District  Attor- 
ney at  Chicago  has  brought  to  light  the  fact  that 
literally  thousands  of  innocent  girls  from  the  coun- 
try districts  are  every  year  entrapped  into  a  life  of 
hopeless  slavery  and  degradation  because  parents 
in    the    country    do    not    understand    conditions 
as   they   exist   and   how    to   protect   their   daugh- 
ters from  the  '  white  slave  '  traders  who  have  re- 
duced the  art  of  ruining  young  girls  to  a  national 
and  international  system.     I  sincerely  believe  that 
nine-tenths  of  the  parents  of  these  thousands  of 
girls  who  are  every  year  snatched  from  lives  of 
decency  and  comparative  peace  and  dragged  un- 
der the  slime  of  an  existence  in  the  '  white  slave 
world  '  have  no  idea  that  there  is  really  a  trade  in 
the    ruin   of   girls   as   much    as   there    is   a   trade 
in    cattle    or    sheep    or    other    products    of    the 
farm, 

164 


WHITE  SLAVERY 

"  I  have  no  disposition  to  add  a  single  word 
to  what  will  open  the  eyes  of  parents  to  the  fact 
that  white  slavery  is  an  existing  condition  —  a 
system  of  girl  hunting  that  is  national  and  inter- 
national in  its  scope,  that  it  literally  consumes  thou- 
sands of  girls  —  clean,  innocent  girls  —  every 
year;  that  it  is  operated  with  a  cruelty,  a  barba- 
rism that  gives  a  new  meaning  to  the  word  fiend; 
that  it  is  an  imminent  peril  to  every  girl  in  the 
country  who  has  a  desire  to  get  into  the  city  and 
taste  its  excitement  and  pleasures." 

One  of  the  worst  obstacles  to  be  overcome  in 
the  work  of  protecting  innocent  girls  and  restor- 
ing to  useful  lives  those  who  have  been  betrayed, 
is  the  blind  incredulity  on  the  part  of  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  public.  There  are  thousands  of 
women  all  over  the  country  who  know  as  little 
about  what  is  going  on  in  the  world  as  do  so  many 
children.  They  are  wonderfully  ignorant  of  the 
terrible  conditions  that  are  in  existence  all  around 
them.  Of  course  their  blindness  to  these  awful 
conditions  makes  them  more  peaceful  and  con- 
tented for  the  time  being  than  they  possibly  could 
be  if  they  realized  the  temptations  and  perils  that 
are  lying  in  wait  for  their  daughters  and  the  daugh- 

165 


HERSELF 

ters  of  their  friends.  But  this  peace  is  not  per- 
manent and  every  year  thousands  of  mothers  are 
rudely  awakened  from  their  sleep  of  peace  to 
find  that  while  they  were  asleep  to  the  perils  of 
the  world  their  daughters  have  been  drawn  Into 
the  whirlpool.  The  awakening  of  such  parents 
comes  too  late  usually  to  do  any  good.  The  re- 
cent agitation  along  this  line  has  caused  many  a 
mother  to  exclaim,  "  How  terrible;  I  did  not  dream 
that  such  a  condition  of  affairs  could  exist  In  this 
country." 

If  you  possessed  a  rare  jewel  and  knew  you 
were  surrounded  by  those  who  would  try  to  obtain 
possession  of  that  jewel  you  would  not  entrust  it 
to  a  blind  or  a  deaf  watchman  or  one  so  Ignorant 
of  the  wiles  of  the  robbers  that  he  would  trust- 
ingly allow  It  to  pass  into  their  possession.  There 
is  nothing  In  the  world  so  priceless  to  the  father 
and  mother  as  the  virtue  and  happiness  of  their 
daughter.  And  yet  there  are  thousands  of  parents 
who  have  been  entrusted  with  the  care  of  a  daugh- 
ter who  are  trying  to  discharge  that  trust  with 
their  eyes  blinded  and  their  ears  closed.  They  In- 
sist upon  keeping  the  childish  belief  that  there  Is 
no  real  danger  threatening  their  daughter.     These 

166 


WHITE  SLAVERY 

parents  do  not  live  in  the  world.  They  fold  their 
hands  and  raise  their  eyes  towards  heaven  and 
cry,  "  Peace !  Peace !  "  and  are  unable  to  see  the 
enemy  slipping  upon  their  daughter  to  drag  her 
down  to  a  life  of  shame. 

In  this  age  no  young  girl  is  beyond  temptation. 
She  needs  all  the  protection  possible,  and  in  order 
to  protect  her  the  parents  must  be  awake  to  the 
dangers  and  provided  with  the  best  means  of  pro- 
tection. One  of  the  things  hardest  to  make  hon- 
est and  trusting  parents  believe  is  that  there  can 
be  people  in  the  world  who  make  it  their  business 
to  lead  girls  into  a  life  of  shame.  But  such  is  the 
case  whether  we  believe  it  or  not.  The  men  and 
women  who  ply  this  trade  lay  their  plans  more 
carefully  and  employ  more  artifices  than  can  be 
conceived  of  by  the  ordinary  parent.  The  wonder 
is  that  not  more  are  caught  in  the  net. 

Another  fact  which  the  public  finds  it  hard  to 
believe  is  that  the  girls  who  are  lured  into  the 
life  of  shame  find  it  impossible  to  escape  from 
such  a  life,  that  they  are  prisoners  and  slaves  in 
every  sense  of  the  word. 

The  artifices  employed  by  these  slave-dealers  to 
obtain  their  victims  are  many  and  frequently  arc 

167 


HERSELF 

so  adroitly  formulated  as  to  blind  not  only  the 
victim  but  her  parents  as  well. 

One  common  trick  of  these  slave  procurers  is 
the  promise  of  a  good  position.      Many  a  girl  has 
gone  to   the   cities   thinking  she  had   obtained   a 
definite  and  desirable  position.     Perhaps  she  was 
to  be  met  at  the  station  by  the  person  who  ob- 
tained the  position   for  her.     Too  late  she  finds 
her  position  is  in  a  house  of  ill-fame.     So  common 
has  this  trick  become  that  in  every  large  city  there 
are    organizations    of    social    workers    who    offer 
through  the  churches  to  look  up  the  desirability 
of  any  position  which  has  been  obtained  by  a  girl 
so  that  should  it  prove  to  be  a  lure  of  the  de- 
stroyer she  could  be  warned  before  it  was  too  late. 
Another  favorite  device  of  the  white  slaver  for 
landing   victims    is   the    runaway    marriage    trick. 
The  alleged  summer  resorts  and  excursion  centers 
which  are  so  widely  advertised  as  Gretna  Greens 
and  as  places  where  the  usual  legal   and  oflicial 
formalities  preliminary  to  respectable  marriage  are 
reduced  to  the  minimum  are  star  recruiting  stations 
for  the   white   slave   traffic.      So   common   is  this 
trick  that  a  wise  mother  would  refuse  to  allow  her 
daughter  to  visit  one  of  these  places  or  to  go  on  one 

i68 


WHITE  SLAVERY 

of  the  pleasure  excursions  unless  accompanied  by 
some  older  member  of  the  family.  Also,  every 
mother  should  teach  her  daughter  that  any  man 
who  proposed  such  a  marriage  was  to  be  looked 
upon  with  suspicion,  and  should  not  be  trusted  for 
an  instant. 

Then  there  is  the  restaurant  trick.  The  girl 
is  induced  to  go  to  what  she  thinks  is  a  restaurant 
and  then  perhaps  is  taken  into  a  private  room  only 
to  find  that  this  room  leads  to  her  prison.  Girls 
cannot  be  too  suspicious  of  going  to  unknown 
places  with  comparative  strangers  —  either  men  or 
women. 

The  moving  picture  shows  furnish  to  these 
slavers  another  opportunity  of  misleading  girls. 
These  shows  naturally  attract  children  and  very 
young  girls.  Evidence  has  been  procured  which 
proves  that  many  girls  owe  their  ruin  to  frequent- 
ing them.  As  an  instance  of  this,  three  girls  met 
as  many  young  men  at  a  moving  picture  show  and 
at  the  end  of  the  performance  were  induced  to 
leave  the  theater  by  a  side  door  which  was  found 
to  open  into  an  adjoining  building  and  all  passed 
the  night  together. 

The  massage  parlors  and  manicure  parlors  upon 

169 


HERSELF 

investigation  proved  to  have  been  used  as  a  bait 
for  these  vile  procurers.  Many  of  these  places 
were  found  to  be  not  equipped  for  their  legitimate 
work  but  to  be  nothing  more  than  disorderly 
houses. 

The  investigations  of  the  United  States  courts 
have  resulted  in  the  imprisonment  of  many  of 
these  panders  but  there  are  many  more  still  un- 
convicted and  the  danger  to  young  girls  is  ever 
present.  The  parents  cannot  be  too  watchful  in 
their  protection,  and  to  be  watchful  they  must  be 
cognizant  of  the  dangers  and  of  the  methods  in 
use.  The  daughters  must  be  so  educated  that  they 
are  prepared  to  cope  with  the  enemy.  Remember, 
as  Browning  says,  "  Ignorance  is  not  innocence, 
but  sin." 


170 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  NEED  OF  EARLY  INSTRUCTION  OF  BOYS 

I  HAVE  made  so  emphatic  the  necessity  of  early 
and  proper  instruction  of  girls  and  I  have  shown 
you  that  so  much  of  the  disease  and  unhappiness 
in  the  world  Is  due  to  this  lack  of  instruction  that 
I  do  not  believe  any  of  your  daughters  ever  will 
say,  "  Why  was  I  not  told  these  things  before  it 
was  too  late?"  But  you  women  will  have  sons 
as  well  as  daughters  and  you  are  just  as  respon- 
sible for  their  future  happiness  as  you  are  for  that 
of  your  daughters.  Besides  the  future  happiness 
of  another  woman's  daughter  depends  In  a  large 
measure  upon  the  health  of  your  son.  The  boys 
need  instruction  as  much  If  not  more  than  do  the 
girls;  at  any  rate  they  need  It  earlier  than  the  girls 
do,  because  boys  talk  more  freely  than  girls  and 
boys  acquire  their  first  impressions  of  these  sub- 
jects much  earlier  than  girls. 

No  boy  ever  willfully  contracted  a  disease  that 

171 


HERSELF 

would  produce  so  much  future  misery  as  that  re- 
sulting from  one  of  the  venereal  diseases.  You  re- 
member I  made  the  remark  tliat  the  large  per- 
centage of  men  contracted  these  diseases  before 
their  twentieth  year,  before  they  had  any  adequate 
knowledge  of  the  possible  consequences.  If  boys 
were  warned  there  would  be  no  more  of  this  inno- 
cent acquisition  of  disease.  Many  a  man  has  had 
cause  to  regret  all  his  life  a  few  moments  of 
thoughtless  dissipation.  Even  though  a  boy  has 
acquired  one  of  these  diseases  that  is  no  reason  why 
he  should  suffer  from  it  th^^.  remainder  of  his  life 
any  more  than  that  he  constantly  should  suffer 
from  an  attack  of  smallpox.  One  difference  at  the 
present  time  is  that  the  smallpox  patient  receives 
the  most  scientific  treatment  procurable,  but  the 
victim  of  one  of  these  plagues  is  neglected.  Boys 
are  told  these  diseases  are  no  worse  than  a  cold 
and  so  do  not  realize  the  necessity  for  prompt  and 
adequate  treatment.  The  ordinary  boy  treats 
himself,  following  the  advice  of  some  of  his  friends 
or  some  incompetent  person.  He  has  a  feeling  of 
shame  which  prevents  him  from  going  to  the  fam- 
ily physician,  who  would  give  him  honest  advice. 
If  he  goes  to  any  physician  he  usually  goes  to  some 

172 


EARLY  INSTRUCTION  OF  BOYS 

advertising  physician  who  claims  to  be  a  "  men 
specialist."  The  main  speciality  of  these  men  is 
obtaining  money  from  their  ignorant  dupes. 
Their  advertisements  would  make  nearly  every 
man  in  the  world  think  he  were  suffering  from 
some  grave  disease.  The  young  boy,  at  an  Im- 
pressionable age,  Is  a  ready  victim  to  their  lures. 
He  is  treated  for  a  real  or  an  Imaginary  disease 
until  his  money  Is  all  gone,  then  he  Is  discharged. 
Let  me  read  you  a  letter  I  received  from  a 
young  boy  which  will  illustrate  my  meaning:  "  I 
read  your  article  '  A  Father's  Duty  to  His  Son,'  In 

the  and  take  the  liberty  of  writing  to  you. 

My  father  died  when  I  was  but  nine  years  old,  so 
I  was  left  to  my  own  resources,  the  result  being  I 
am  now  a  nervous  wreck  at  the  age  of  nineteen. 
I  have  doctored  for  nervous  debility  with  four 
doctors  for  over  a  year  and  a  half.  The  result, 
they  got  every  cent  out  of  me  but  did  not  help  me 
a  particle.  If  my  mother  ever  found  it  out,  It 
would  worry  her  to  death,  as  she  has  hopes  In  mc, 
fool  that  I  was.  My  condition,  I  am  always 
nervous  when  In  company,  expecting  somebody  to 
accuse  me  any  minute.  My  eyes  always  are 
blurred  and  my  hands  shake  as  if  I  were  an  old 

173 


HERSELF 

man.  I  have  night  losses,  which  bother  me  more 
than  anything  and  if  they  stopped  I  know  1 
could  fight  my  way  back,  to  health.  If  you  could 
possibly  give  me  some  recipe  or  advice  it  would  be 
greatly  appreciated.  Nobody  but  one  in  this  con- 
dition can  imagine  the  strain  on  the  mind  and  body. 
Although  I  feel  well  when  alone,  though  awfully 
weak,  I  am  a  nervous  wreck  when  in  the  presence 
of  others.  I  have  written  to  you  because  your 
article  seems  to  tell  facts  which  I  know  to  be  true." 

Now,  if  you  will  pardon  me  I  will  quote  a 
portion  of  my  reply:  "  Evidently  you  have  been 
the  victim  of  unscrupulous  doctors.  Unfor- 
tunately there  are  a  number.  They  usually  adver- 
tise themselves  as  specialists  in  diseases  of  men.  A 
reliable  physician  does  not  advertise.  If  you  had 
gone  to  a  trustworthy  family  physician  in  the  first 
place  you  would  have  been  saved  much  worry, 
and  incidentally  considerable  money. 

"  The  chief  advice  you  need  is  to  stop  worrying. 
The  night  losses  you  mention  are  a  natural  condi- 
tion. They  occur  with  nearly  every  normal  man 
who  is  living  a  continent  life.  Even  if  they  occur 
two  or  three  times  a  week  they  do  not  indicate 
any  di«iased  condition.     The  more  you  worry  and 

174 


EARLY  INSTRUCTION  OF  BOYS 

think  about  such  things  the  more  often  they  will 
occur.  I  do  not  know  what  your  occupation  is, 
but  if  it  is  indoor  work  you  must  plan  to  take  a 
great  deal  of  outdoor  exercise  every  day.  If  you 
could  go  out  in  the  country  for  awhile  and  do 
hard  outdoor  work  it  would  be  the  best  thing  for 
you.  Eat  only  plain,  easily  digested  food,  but 
cat  plenty.  Do  not  use  any  condiments  nor  stim- 
ulants. Sleep  on  a  hard  bed  with  plenty  of  fresh 
air  in  the  room.  Bathe  the  external  genitals  with 
cold  water  night  and  morning.  .  .  .  The  fact 
that  you  have  abused  yourself  in  the  past  need  not 
prevent  you  from  being  a  perfectly  healthy  person 
now  if  you  are  not  continuing  the  practice.'* 

Every  boy  desires  to  be  a  man  but  does  not 
quite  understand  the  meaning  of  the  word.  He 
dislikes  to  be  called  a  "  greeny  "  or  anything  that 
suggests  that  he  is  young  and  inexperienced.  Often 
he  pretends  to  know  things  he  does  not.  Nearly 
every  boy,  at  an  early  age,  is  thrown  in  contact 
with  low-minded  persons  who  think  it  amusing  to 
persuade  the  youth  to  prove  he  knows  indecent 
things.  He  thinks  it  a  test  of  manhood  to  be 
acquainted  with  various  vices  and  so  in  order  to 
prove  his  knowledge  is  led  into  various  indiscre- 

175 


HERSELF 

> 

tions,  which  result  in  the  contraction  of  vile  habits 
or  of  loathsome  diseases. 

If  a  boy  at  an  early  age  were  given  the  true 
idea  of  the  meaning  of  being  a  man  or  of  man- 
hood we  would  have  fewer  physical  wrecks  and 
incompetent  individuals. 


176 


CHAPTER  XXI 

WHY   BOYS   GO   ASTRAY 

"  What  can  a  boy  do,  and  where  can  a  boy  stay. 

If  he  is  always  told  to  get  out  of  the  way? 

He  cannot  sit  here,  and  he  must  not  stand  there, 

The  cushions  that  cover  that  fine  rocking  chair 

Were  put  there,  of  course,  to  be  seen  and  admired; 

A  boy  has  no  business  to  ever  be  tired. 

The  beautiful  roses  and  flowers  that  bloom 

On  the  floor  of  the  darkened  and  delicate  room 

Are  made  not  to  walk  on  —  at  least,  not  by  boys; 

The  house  is  no  place,  anyway,  for  their  noise, 

Yet  boys  must  walk  somewhere,  and  what  if  their  feet, 

Sent  out  of  their  houses,  sent  into  the  street, 

Should  step  round  the  corner  and  pause  at  the  door 

Where  other  boys'  feet  have  paused  often  before; 

Should  pass  the  gateway  of  glittering  light. 

Where  jokes  that  are  merry  and  songs  that  are  bright 

Ring  out  a  warm  welcome  with  flattering  voice. 

And  temptingly  say,  *  Here's  a  place  for  the  boys.* 

Ah,  what  if  they  should?     What  if  your  boy  or  mine 
Should  cross  o'er  the  threshold  which  marks  out  the  line 

177 


HERSELF 

Twixt  virtue  and  vice,  'twixt  pureness  and  sin, 

And  leave  all  his  innocent  boyhood  within? 

Oh,  what  if  they  should,  because  you  and  I 

While  the  days  and  the  months  and  the  years  hurry  by, 

Are  too  busy  with  cares  and  with  life's  fleeting  joys 

To  make  round  our  hearthstone  a  place  for  the  boys? 

There's  a  place  for  the  boys.     They'll  find  it  somewhere; 

And  if  our  own  homes  are  too  daintily  fair 

For  the  touch  of  their  fingers,  the  tread  of  their  feet, 

They'll  find  it,  and  find  it,  alas,  in  the  street, 

'Mid  the  gilding  of  sin  and  tt.e  glitter  of  vice; 

And  with  heartaches  and  longings  we  pay  a  dear  price 

For  the  getting  of  gain  that  our  lifetime  employs, 

If  we  fail  to  provide  a  good  place  for  the  boys." 

This  little  poem,  published  anonymously  in  a 
country  newspaper,  seems  to  mc  to  tell  the  story 
of  why  boys  go  astray.  They  are  not  understood 
at  home  and  so  naturally  go  where  someone  seems 
to  understand  and  want  them. 

In  a  great  many  homes  the  boy's  room  is  a 
very  unattractive  place,  merely  a  place  in  which 
to  sleep.  He  Is  not  allowed  In  the  "  parlor."  He 
always  seems  to  be  In  the  way.  No  one  seems 
to  take  any  Interest  In  the  things  that  are  closest 
to  his  heart.  It  Is  only  natural  that  he  should 
gradually  drift  to  the  saloon,  the  billiard  room,  the 

178 


WHY  BOYS  GO  ASTRAY 

questionable  houses,  because  he  is  made  to  feel 
that  he  is  welcome  there.  Indeed  his  tastes  and 
desires  arc  consulted  there. 

A  boy  always  is  interested  in  sex  problems. 
The  vulgar  delight  in  feeding  his  fancy,  in  giv- 
ing him  exaggerated  ideas  of  these  much  abused 
subjects.  He  is  lead  on  from  one  step  to  another. 
Often  many  of  the  things  he  does  are  performed 
in  a  spirit  of  bravado,  simply  because  he  does  not 
wish  to  appear  "  green." 

From  one  of  the  reliable  magazines  comes  this 
information:  "Forty-one  families — 'nice  fam- 
ilies,' as  we  call  them  —  were  last  May  thrown 
into  consternation  and  humiliation  by  being  pri* 
vately  notified  by  the  head  master  of  a  boys'  school 
that  their  boys  would  not  be  reentered  for  another 
term  at  his  school.  '  A  fearful  condition  of  im- 
morality,' wrote  the  head  master,  '  has  been  un- 
earthed at  the  school,  and  In  order  to  set  an  ex- 
ample to  the  rest  of  the  boys,  every  boy  concerned 
will  be  denied  reentrance  to  this  school.' 

•*  The  *  fearful  condition  of  immorality '  dis- 
covered in  the  school  was,  as  the  head  master  pri- 
vately explained,  traceable,  as  it  generally  Is,  '  to 
one  boy,  the  son  of  a  family  of  unquestioned  stand- 

179 


HERSELF 

ing  In  its  community,'  and  he  has  involved  the 
othtv  boys. 

"  The  boy  in  question  was  not  a  vicious  lad:  on 
the  contrary,  he  was  a  boy  possessed  of  more 
than  ordinary  good  characteristics.  When  he  was 
brought'  up  before  the  head  master  and  the  full 
result  of  his  baneful  influence  was  explained  to  him 
the  boy  was  panic  stricken. 

"*  Didn't  you  realize  what  you  were  doing?' 
asked  the  head  master. 

"  *  No,'  replied  the  boy,  who  was  nineteen  and 
really  a  young  man :  '  I  knew  it  was  wrong,  yes, 
but  I  didn't  realize  how  wrong.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,'  said  the  boy,  '  I  didn't  know  what  I  was 
doing,  and  how  I  was  getting  the  boys  into  a  thing 
that  I  now  see  is  more  serious  than  I  had  any  Idea 
of.' 

"  '  Didn't  your  father  and  mother  ever  explain 
these  things  to  you?  '  asked  the  head  master. 

"  '  Not  a  word,'  answered  the  boy,  and  then  as 
a  grim  look  came  on  his  face  he  said:  '  God!  I 
wish  they  had  1  ' 

"  A  pleasant  realization  must  it  be  to  the  parents 
of  this  boy  as  they  read  this  sentence  in  the  head 
master's  letter  to  the  father  of  this  boy: 

1 80 


WHY  BOYS  GO  ASTRAY 

"  '  I  cannot  but  feel  that  your  criminal  negli- 
gence in  the  most  vital  duty  that  can  come  to  a 
parent  is  the  direct  cause  in  this  twofold  calamity: 
first,  of  the  downfall  of  your  own  son;  and  sec- 
ond, of  the  downfall  of  each  of  the  other  forty 
boys,  and  of  the  humiliation  in  which  they  and 
their  parents  find  themselves.  These  are  hard 
words  to  say  to  you,  but  they  are  true,  and  I  say 
them  not  alone  as  the  head  master  of  this  school, 
but  also  as  one  father  to  another,  and  as  one  man 
to  another.'  " 

In  the  growing  youth's  mind  there  arise  many 
questions  that  he  would  like  to  talk  over  with  his 
father,  but  he  feels  diffident  about  asking  him. 
Too  often  the  boy  grows  up  and  goes  away  to  col- 
lege without  ever  talking  with  his  father  about 
manhood.  In  all  matters  concerning  his  business 
relations  and  success,  the  boy  has  received  careful 
instruction.  He  has  not  been  left  to  work  out 
those  problems  by  himself  but  is  given  the  benefit 
of  the  experiences  of  those  who  have  trodden  the 
road  before.  But  In  this  matter  so  vital  to  his 
whole  life,  he  has  been  left  to  clear  his  own  path 
through  the  woods.  With  no  guide  and  bewil- 
dered with   the   new   ideas   and   experiences   that 

i8i 


HERSELF 

crowd  upon  him,  Is  it  any  wonder  he  loses  his  way, 
wanders  off  the  straight  path,  falls  ofttimes  into 
some  bog  that  perhaps  was  hidden  from  his  sight 
by  surrounding  flowers  and  to  which  he  has  been 
lured  by  siren  music? 

The  father's  duty  to  his  son  is  plain  —  and  must 
not  be  neglected.  In  some  cases  the  mother  must 
attend  to  this  duty  and  for  the  future  welfare  of 
her  son  she  must  sec  that  he  receives  adequate  in- 
struction. 


i8« 


CHAPTER  XXII 

HOW    SHALL  THE    CHILD   BE    TOLD? 

Every  mother  and  every  father  realizes  that 
there  are  certain  things  incident  to  reproduction 
that  must  be  learned  by  the  child  at  an  early  age. 
They  realize,  too,  that  it  is  preferable  that  this 
information  should  be  imparted  by  the  parents. 
But,  on  account  of  their  own  lack  of  instruction, 
they  find  two  problems  confronting  them.  How 
and  when  shall  I  tell  my  child  are  the  questions 
uppermost  in  many  parents'  minds. 

The  answer  to  the  first  question  must  depend 
upon  the  individual  case.  At  a  certain  age  a  baby 
expresses  a  desire  for  something  to  bite.  Before 
that  time  we  make  no  effort  to  force  him  to  bite. 
Later  he  finds  he  can  help  himself  from  one  posi- 
tion to  another  by  creeping.  Then  in  a  few 
months  he  discovers  he  is  able  to  use  his  feet  and 
tries  to  walk.  We  do  not  try  to  force  any  of 
these  new  ideas  upon  him  but  simply  wait  pa- 

183 


HERSELF 

tiently  until  he  expresses  a  desire  to  acquire  some 
new  knowledge,  then  we  aid  him  and  guide  his 
efforts. 

There  comes  a  time  In  the  life  of  every  child 
when  he  awakens  to  knowledge  of  reproduction. 
Then  Is  the  time  to  give  the  information.  Some 
children  commence  to  Inquire  as  early  as  three 
years.  At  such  an  early  age  It  is  not  necessary  to 
go  Into  details,  as  a  very  little  Information  suffices 
to  satisfy  the  child. 

Just  how  to  tell  the  truths  necessary  must  vary 
with  the  age  of  the  child.  It  Is  important  to  re- 
member to  be  truthful  to  the  child.  When  a 
mother  tells  the  child  that  the  stork  or  the  doctor 
brings  the  baby,  she  sets  a  seal  upon  evasion. 
Some  day  he  will  learn  that  his  mother  has  de- 
ceived him  and  that  behind  her  Instruction  lies  an 
element  of  secrecy,  and  secrecy  with  its  companion 
curiosity  Is  the  cause  of  much  unrest  in  after  life. 
The  child  gathers  the  Idea  that  there  must  be 
something  shameful  connected  with  the  birth  of  a 
child  or  his  mother  would  not  be  ashamed  to  tell 
him  the  truth. 

Secondly,   the  child  must  be  told  scientifically 
that  this  knowledge  may  form  a  basis  for  later 

184 


HOW  SHALL  THE  CHILD  BE  TOLD? 

studies  in  biology.  He  can  be  taught  in  a  simple 
manner  that  all  nature  comes  from  a  seed ;  that  the 
mother  makes  a  tiny  nest  for  the  seed  and  that 
with  all  seeds  it  is  necessary  for  their  growth  that 
the  father  gives  them  some  pollen. 

Until  these  subjects  are  put  before  children  and 
young  people  with  some  degree  of  intelligence  and 
sympathetic  handling,  it  cannot  be  expected  tiiat 
anything  but  the  utmost  confusion  In  mind  and  in 
morals  should  reign  in  matters  of  sex.  It  seems 
incredible  that  our  thoughts  could  be  so  unclean 
that  we  find  it  impossible  to  give  to  our  children 
the  information  they  need  on  these  most  sacred 
subjects,  but  instead  we  allow  them  to  obtain  their 
information  whenever  and  wherever  they  can  and 
in  the  most  unclean  manner.  A  child  at  the  age 
of  puberty  is  capable  of  the  most  sensitive,  affec- 
tional  and  serene  appreciation  of  what  sex  means 
and  can  absorb  the  teachings  If  properly  given 
without  any  shock  to  his  sense  of  the  fitness  of 
things.  Indeed  whenever  these  subjects  are  taught 
to  the  child  correctly  they  induce  a  feeling  of  rev- 
erence for  the  mother  that  could  not  otherwise  be 
obtained.  A  little  child  when  told  that  she  grew 
in  a  nest  in  mother's  body  right  underneath  moth- 

185 


HERSELF 

er's  heart  at  once  becomes  filled  with  a  great  love 
and  wonder  for  that  mother.  Then  later  to  teach 
the  relation  of  fatherhood  and  how  the  love  of 
parents  for  each  other  and  their  desire  to  have  a 
child  of  their  very  own  was  the  cause  of  that  child's 
existence  —  these  things  seem  so  natural  to  the 
child  mind  that  has  not  been  polluted  with  vulgar 
ideas  that  they  excite  in  him  no  sense  of  unfitness, 
only  a  deep  gratitude  and  a  kind  of  tender  wonder- 
ment. 

The  great  point  to  remember  in  teaching  these 
things  to  children  Is  to  satisfy  their  present  ques- 
tion and  leave  the  understanding  that  mother  (or 
father)  always  stands  ready  and  willing  to  ex- 
plain any  problems  that  are  bothering  the  child. 

So  many  girls  have  told  me  that  when  they  were 
between  six  and  fourteen  years  of  age  they  had 
heard  some  things  about  the  land  where  the  babies 
grow  and  immediately  went  to  their  mothers  and 
inquired  as  to  the  truth  of  what  they  had  heard. 
The  invariable  answer  received  was,  "  Little  girls 
must  not  talk  about  such  things."  That  silenced 
the  child  and  the  mother  heaved  a  sigh  of  relief 
that  the  question  had  passed  off  so  smoothly  and 
easily.     7  hat  little  sentence  has  been  the  cause  of 

i86 


HOW  SHALL  THE  CHILD  BE  TOLD? 

innumerable  mistakes  and  misery.  That  little  sen- 
tence marked  the  beginning  of  the  failure  of  the 
child  to  confide  in  her  mother,  the  child  never  again 
would  broach  the  subject  to  her  mother.  How- 
ever, that  did  not  mean  that  the  child  would  not 
receive  the  information  requested;  for,  as  a  rule, 
the  girls  v/ho  told  of  this  incidence  also  remarked 
that  they  had  received  the  information  very  soon 
from  some  older  girl  and  frequently  in  a  vulgar 
manner.  If  a  mother  wishes  to  retain  the  confi- 
dence of  her  daughter,  if  a  father  wishes  to  re- 
tain the  confidence  of  his  son  they  both  must  keep 
a  keen  lookout  for  the  first  questions  and  be  pre- 
pared to  answer  them  at  the  time. 

Later  on  the  special  sexual  needs  of  the  boy 
or  the  girl  can  be  explained,  the  necessity  of  clean- 
liness and  the  danger  of  self-abuse.  The  need  of 
self-control  and  the  possibility  of  deflecting  phys- 
ical desire  to  other  channels  and  the  great  gain 
resulting;  all  these  things  the  youth  of  either  sex 
arc  capable  of  understanding  and  appreciating, 
and  the  knowledge  given  early  will  prevent  many 
physical  and  moral  wrecks. 

It  is  the  duty  of  fathers  and  mothers  to  prepare 
themselves  ou  these  subjects  so  as  to  have  the  an- 

187 


HERSELF 

swer  ready  when  the  child  first  inquires.  There 
is  no  excuse  for  not  doing  so,  for  educators  all 
over  the  country  stand  ready  to  help  any  parents 
who  call  upon  them.  It  is  possible  for  every  com- 
munity to  obtain  the  services  of  a  lecturer  or 
teacher  who  will  instruct  the  parents.  The  indi- 
vidual can  obtain  books  which  explain  all  these 
things  simply  and  plainly.  There  is  no  excuse  for 
ignoran'^e. 


i88 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

WOMEN    IN    BUSINESS 

If  all  homes  were  Ideal  and  all  men  likewise, 
there  would  be  no  question  of  woman  suffrage  cr 
woman  in  business.  But  this  is  not  an  ideal  world; 
all  women  who  have  kept  their  places  and  stayed 
at  home,  kept  house  and  taken  care  of  their  chil- 
dren have  not  led  ideal  lives.  In  too  many  in- 
stances the  home  woman,  the  little  wren,  has  been 
deserted  for  the  gay  song-bird.  The  necessities 
of  life  have  forced  other  women  into  the  business 
world  —  women  whose  preference  would  be  for 
the  ideal,  quiet  home  life.  One  must  not  think 
that  because  a  woman  is  leading  a  public  life  that 
she  prefers  it,  that  she  has  no  desire  for  a  home 
and  little  ones.  Often  her  choice  has  been  the 
lesser  of  two  evils, —  more  to  be  desired  than  a 
life,  married,  but  loveless;  one  in  which  she  must 
slave  from  morn  till  eve  and  then  receive  as  recom- 
pense curses  and  fault-finding. 

189 


HERSELF 

Tlie  woman  who  refuses  to  so  demean  the  mar- 
ried life  as  to  enter  into  such  a  marriage,  preferring 
instead  the  busy  life  of  a  bachelor  maid,  is  to  be 
admired  rather  than  condemned.  That  she  makes 
a  success  of  her  business  life  tends  to  show  what 
some  man  has  missed  by  not  proving  himself 
worthy  to  be  her  husband. 

We  hear  so  much  about  woman  entering  into 
business  —  just  as  though  she  had  not  always  been 
m  business.  Stop  and  think  about  our  ancestors 
on  the  farms.  The  woman  shared  the  work 
equally  with  the  man.  He  attended  to  the  heavier 
work,  while  she  attended  to  that  which  required 
less  physical  strength  but  more  attention  to  details. 
The  products  of  her  industry  often  brought  as 
much  ready  cash  as  that  derived  from  the  sale  of 
the  larger  products  of  the  farm.  Many  families 
depended  for  the  yearly  supply  of  clothes  and  lux- 
uries on  the  money  thus  obtained  from  the  sale  of 
butter,  eggs  and  chickens.  In  olden  days,  too, 
many  a  woman  derived  an  income  from  the  sale 
of  home-made  rugs  and  counterpanes. 

Just  how  men  have  conceived  the  idea  that  it  is 
only  the  modern  woman  who  is  a  money  earner,  I 
cannot  understand,  nor  can  I  understand  how  some 

190 


WOMEN  IN  BUSINESS 

men  expect  women  to  be  happy  in  Idleness.  The 
most  unhappy  women  in  the  world  are  the  women 
who  have  a  great  deal  of  leisure  time.  Many 
a  man  objects  to  his  wife  taking  up  any  outside 
work  even  though  It  would  not  interfere  with  her 
household  duties.  This  usually  is  due  to  false 
pride  on  his  part.  He  is  afraid  of  what  others 
will  say;  afraid  his  friends  will  think  he  is  not 
capable  of  supporting  his  wife.  Some  of  these 
men  forget  to  take  Into  account  the  possibility 
that  an  accident  or  Illness  may  take  him  away, 
business  failures  may  sweep  away  his  accumula- 
tions and  then  his  wife  must  face  the  necessity  of 
earning  her  living.  Alas,  how  seldom  is  she  pre- 
pared to  do  this!  If,  during  the  leisure  time  of 
her  protected  life,  she  had  been  perfecting  herself 
in  some  branch  of  Industry,  her  future  would  be 
easily  solved. 

A  woman  can  devote  several  hours  a  day  to  out- 
side affairs  and  still  not  neglect  her  home  duties. 
Home-making  does  not  necessarily  mean  that  the 
woman  herself  must  do  the  washing.  Ironing,  cook- 
ing, baking  or  sewing.  She  must  see  that  these 
arc  performed  properly  but  the  actual  work  may 
all  be  done  by  others.     A  business  man  does  not 

191 


HERSELF 

attempt  to  do  all  the  work  of  the  office  himself. 
He  employs  a  bookkeeper,  a  clerk  and  a  stenog- 
rapher to  attend  to  the  details  while  he  directs.  It 
is  the  same  way  with  a  home,  a  woman  may  em- 
ploy others  to  do  the  physical  labor  while  she 
directs. 

Then  as  to  the  married  woman  earning  money. 
Let  me  give  you  an  illustration.  A  woman  has 
spent  the  early  part  of  her  life  perfecting  herself 
in  some  branch  of  work,  for  instance,  book  cover 
designing.  She  marries  a  man  in  moderate  cir- 
cumstances and  does  not  feel  that  she  can  afford 
to  be  idle  and  employ  someone  else  to  do  her 
house  work.  She  is  a  slenderly  built  woman  and 
it  would  be  a  great  tax  on  her  strength  to  perform 
all  the  household  duties  —  for  some  parts  of  house- 
keeping require  such  hard  physical  labor  that  even 
many  men  would  not  care  to  attempt  them.  It 
certainly  would  seem  a  very  reasonable  thing  for 
this  woman  to  devote  several  hours  a  day  to  book 
cover  designing  and  use  the  money  so  earned  to 
employ  a  strong  woman  to  do  the  heavy  house- 
work. This  arrangement  would  be  better  for  all 
concerned;  first,  the  woman  would  be  happier  and 
norc  contented;  next,  the  man  would  enjoy  his 

192 


WOMEN  IN  BUSINESS 

home  more,  for  any  man  certainly  would  rather 
come  home  and  find  his  wife  contented  and  happy 
and  with  leisure  time  to  devote  to  him,  than  to 
come  home  and  find  her  all  tired  out,  and  conse- 
quently cross,  with  the  housework  so  unfinished  she 
must  devote  her  evening  to  some  household  task. 

If  circumstances  have  given  a  woman  home  and 
children,  they  always  must  come  first,  but  this  does 
not  mean  the  woman  must  do  housework  if  condi- 
tions permit  the  employment  of  somebody  to  do 
it.  She  must  do  the  work  for  which  she  is  best 
fitted  both  by  nature  and  by  training. 

In  whatever  occupation  a  woman  is  engaged  she 
(jhould  endeavor  to  make  a  success  of  that  work, 
vo  do  it  a  little  better  than  anyone  else  could;  for 
in  every  field  of  endeavor  there  is  joy  and  reward 
for  always  being  and  doing  one's  best.  The  great 
secret  of  success  is  concentration.  Too  many 
women  waste  their  energies  thinking  and  talking 
about  the  things  they  would  like  to  do.  Every 
time  you  talk  about  the  thing  you  would  like  to 
do  you  waste  just  that  much  energy  and  make  your 
goal  less  possible  of  achievement.  That  which 
seems  difficult  before  is  usually  found  easy  to 
accomj  lish,  once  undertaken.     If  you  wish  to  ac- 

193 


HERSELF 

complish  anything  hold  the  thought  In  your  mind 
and  concentrate  ail  your  powers  in  that  direction. 
Do  not  scatter  your  energies  like  chaff  to  be  blown 
hither  and  thither.. 


194 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

NERVOUSNESS  —  A  LACK  OF  CONTROL 

How  often  do  we  meet  women  who  complain 
of  being  nervous.  What  they  really  mean  is  that 
they  have  not  control  of  their  nerves  but  let  them 
run  away.  A  woman  may  be  of  a  nervous  tem- 
perament and  yet  have  such  good  control  of  her 
nerves  that  she  never  complains  of  being  nervous. 
This  lack  of  nerve  control  manifests  itself  in  vari- 
cus  ways.  Sometimes  it  only  is  a  tendency  to  cry 
at  trivial  things  or  an  inclination  to  despondency 
—  to  have  "  the  blues,"  or  to  worry  over  real 
or  fancied  slights.  Many  women  waste  so  much 
time  thinking  over  things  that  are  past  and  gone. 
A  visit  with  a  friend  loses  its  joy  in  the  after- 
thought, for  this  victim  of  the  nerves  lives  over 
again  every  moment  of  the  visit.  She  recalls  ev- 
erything that  has  been  said  and  wonders  if  a  dif- 
ferent meaning  were  meant.  Things  that  were 
said  as  a  joke  and  originally  taken  that  way  now 

195 


HERSELF 

are  brought  up  for  criticism  and  pondered  over  un- 
til the  woman  convinces  herself  of  the  presence  of 
a  hidden  meaning.  She  is  not  satisfied  until  she 
has  bent  and  shapen  the  original  thoughtless  sen- 
tence into  an  ugly  sting. 

These  nervous  women  are  the  ones  who  con- 
tinually are  tormented  with  the  demon  of  jealousy. 
If  one  of  them  should  suddenly  meet  her  husband 
on  the  street  walking  with  another  woman,  what 
a  curtain  lecture  he  would  receive  that  evening;  or 
if  not  that,  he  finds  his  wife  wearing  the  air  of  one 
who  considers  herself  much  abused.  The  real 
facts  of  the  case  may  be  that  her  husband  met 
the  other  woman  quite  accidentally  and,  as  they 
were  going  in  the  same  direction,  he  could  not  avoid 
walking  with  her  without  being  positively  rude. 
In  this  age  men  must,  of  necessity,  have  business 
transactions  with  women.  It  is  a  common  occur- 
rence for  two  men  to  lunch  together  in  order  to 
have  a  chance  to  talk  over  some  important  busi- 
ness without  fear  of  interruption.  There  is  no 
reason  why  a  man  and  woman  might  not  do  the 
same,  and  yet  how  impossible  it  would  be  to  con- 
vince the  jealous  woman  that  this  was  the  case. 
To    be    jealous   is    to    acknowledge    the    superior 

196 


NERVOUSNESS 

charms  of  the  other  woman.  "  If  I  cannot  hold 
you  against  all  women,  then  I  do  not  want  you." 
If  you  think  some  other  woman  Is  attracting  your 
husband,  wake  up  and  beat  her  at  her  own  game. 
Do  not  sit  idly  in  the  corner  and  complain.  You 
only  are  making  yourself  miserable  and  not  trying 
to  right  the  wrong. 

A  woman  who  Is  nervous  usually  does  not  real- 
ize what  Is  the  cause  of  her  condition.  When 
excitable  and  irritable  and  suffering  from  a  nervous 
headache,  she  takes  various  remedies  to  deaden 
the  symptoms,  instead  of  looking  the  matter 
squarely  in  the  face  and  going  after  the  cause. 

Many  women  need  a  hobby  to  take  up  their 
spare  time  and  to  occupy  their  minds.  If  their 
minds  are  occupied  and  their  bodies  kept  In  good 
condition  by  proper  care,  they  soon  will  gain  con- 
trol of  their  nerves.  If  you  find  yourself  getting 
nervous,  make  up  your  mind  to  overcome  It  by 
filling  your  life  so  full  of  work  and  play  that  you 
will  have  no  time  to  give  way  to  the  nerves. 
When  you  feel  an  attack  coming  on,  get  busy  and 
"  work  it  off." 

There  Is  a  class  of  women  who  possess  com- 
fortable homes,  with  a  maid  to  do  the  work,  who&c 

197 


HERSELF 

home  duties  are  not  confining  and  who  find  them- 
selves with  a  great  deal  of  extra  time  on  their 
hands.  To  these  women  the  days  are  long  and 
they  endeavor  to  pass  away  the  time  by  doing 
nerve  racking  fancy  work  or  by  "  fussing  "  around 
the  h«use.  They  are  not  happy  and  contented, 
chicfiy  because  their  minds  are  being  neglected  — 
are  growing  up  to  weeds  like  a  neglected  garden. 
For  such  d  woman  club  work  is  a  boon.  She 
should  take  up  some  especial  kind  of  work,  and 
devote  several  hours  a  day  to  the  study  of  It.  At 
first  this  will  be  hard,  for  a  mind  that  has  fallen 
into  lazy  ways  is  not  easily  aroused  to  continual 
effort,  the  deeply  rooted  weeds  are  not  easily  de- 
stroyed. 

Many  half  contented  women  realize  this  need 
of  mental  food  but  hesitate.  As  one  woman  said, 
"Why,  my  husband  would  leave  me  if  I  started 
to  work !  "  Some  men  take  a  peculiar  attitude 
towards  women.  They  would  like  to  treat  them 
as  a  woman  treats  her  pet  dog.  The  dog  is  pro- 
vided with  a  comfortable  home,  plenty  of  food, 
someone  to  bathe  it  and  carry  it  around.  The 
dofr  is  contented  with  this.  It  loves  to  sleep  and 
cat  the  livelong  day;  it  comes  when  its  mistress 

1'^ 


NERVOUSNESS 

calls,  and  goes  when  she  is  tired  of  it.  Unfor- 
tunately, perhaps,  all  women  cannot  be  contented 
with  such  a  life.  The  woman  was  given  a  brain 
which  refuses  to  be  dormant.  If  it  is  not  required 
to  be  used  in  a  useful  way,  it  occupies  itself  with 
bad  thoughts  —  it  worries  and  becomes  fault  find- 
ing or  gossiping. 

No  woman  should  allow  her  mind  to  grow  up 
to  such  v/eeds.  If  the  circumstances  of  her  po- 
sition, her  education  or  her  environment  seem  to 
make  it  unwise  that  she  take  up  any  work  that 
would  bring  a  monetary  reward,  she  easily  can 
find  some  charitable  work  that  needs  all  the  en- 
ergies she  can  devote  to  it.  If  such  a  woman 
would  take  up  some  special  branch  of  philan- 
thropic work  she  would  be  amply  rewarded,  not 
only  by  the  consciousness  of  the  good  she  had  done, 
but  by  the  improvement  in  her  own  health  and 
happiness. 

There  is  another  phase  to  this  lack  of  nerve 
control  shown  in  a  nervous  tension,  an  inability 
to  relax  and  enjoy  life.  Some  people  go  through 
the  day  on  such  a  nervous  tension  that  they  are 
unable  to  take  cognizance  of  their  surroundings. 
Eventually  this  tension  will  manifest  itself  in  some 

199 


.       HERSELF 

disorder,  as  headache,  nervous  Indigestion  or  com- 
plete nervous  prostration.  In  the  latter  case  the 
nerves  have  been  so  abused,  so  strained  that  at 
last  they  are  worn  out.     A  rest  is  imperative  I 

A  woman  who,  if  she  has  a  few  spare  moments, 
can  lie  down  and  relax  absolutely,  perhaps  even 
drop  to  sleep,  has  a  better  chance  to  stand  the 
stress  and  strain  of  business  or  of  housekeeping 
than  the  one  who  finds  it  impossible  to  do  so.  Try 
making  it  a  point  to  he  down  for  two  or  three 
minutes  several  times  a  day;  lie  flat  on  your  back 
and  relax  every  muscle;  put  every  worry  or  ugly 
thought  out  of  your  mind  by  thinking  some  pleas- 
ant but  soothing  sentence  as,  "  I  am  glad  I  can  rest. 
I  will  be  happy  when  I  arise.''  You  will  be  sur- 
prised at  the  effect  these  few  moments  a  day  will 
produce  upon  your  health  and  happiness. 

Plenty  of  sleep  is  Imperative  for  these  women 
and  yet  so  many  of  them  neglect  this  great  re- 
storer of  the  nervous  system.  Frequently  these 
women  complain  of  an  inability  to  go  to  sleep 
easily,  and  spend  long  hours  of  the  night  lying 
awake  and  entertaining  worry  thoughts.  This 
symptom  of  disordered  nerves  should  not  be  neg- 

200 


NERVOUSNESS 

lected.  A  warm  bath  before  retiring,  followed 
by  a  gentle  massage,  especially  along  the  spine, 
will,  by  relaxing  the  nerves  and  muscles,  produce 
very  good  results.  A  hot  foot-bath,  by  drawing 
the  blood  away  from  the  brain,  often  will  be  bene- 
ficial. A  glass  of  hot  milk  or  cocoa  taken  just 
before  retiring  may  have  the  same  effect.  If  the 
sleeplessness  is  a  result  of  indigestion  a  plain  diet 
will  relieve.  Sleeping  upon  a  hard  bed  without  a 
pillow  sometimes  produces  the  desired  effect.  Al- 
ways have  plenty  of  fresh  air  in  the  room.  Keep 
the  mind  free  from  the  cares  of  the  day.  If  they 
will  intrude  crowd  them  out  by  repeating  some 
soothing  sentence  as :  "  There  is  no  reason  why 
I  should  not  sleep,  therefore,  I  shall  sleep.  My 
body  is  relaxed,  my  mind  is  at  peace,  sleep  is  com- 
ing, I  am  getting  sleepy,  I  am  about  to  sleep." 
Never  take  any  sleeping  powders  except  upon  the 
advice  of  a  physician,  for  the  majority  of  these 
sleeping  powders  contain  some  harmful  drug,  as 
morphine,  codeine,  phenacetin  or  acetanilid.  The 
latter  especially  is  very  depressing  to  the  heart  and 
serves  to  weaken  the  nervous  system.  In  fact 
many  deaths  may  be  laid  at  the  door  of  these 

201 


HERSELF 

drugs.  Treatments  to  tone  up  the  nervous  sys- 
tem and  to  Improve  the  circulation  often  are  indi- 
cated in  these  cases  of  "  nerves."  Control  your 
nerves,  do  not  let  them  control  you! 


20'i 


CHAPTER  XXV 

A  WOMAN  IS  AS  YOUNG  AS  SHE  WANTS  TO  BE 

Have  you  ever  thought  why  it  Is  that  some 
women  are  as  young  at  forty  as  others  are  at 
twenty- four?  And  I  mean  young  not  frivolous  I 
It  is  every  woman's  duty  to  keep  young  as  long  as 
possible,  but,  unfortunately,  she  does  not  always 
know  the  best  way  to  live  up  to  that  duty.  Keep- 
ing young  means  keeping  your  body  in  a  perfectly 
healthy  condition  and  your  mind  In  harmony. 
With  attention  to  certain  laws  a  woman  can  de- 
tract ten  years  from  her  age.  She  can  do  this  by 
treating  herself  as  a  friend  and  not  as  a  slave. 
Take  ten  minutes  and  think  how  you  could  Improve 
yourself  by  a  little  effort.  Perhaps  some  of  these 
suggestions  will  help  you. 

Everyone  needs  exercise.  Just  what  sort  de- 
pends upon  the  occupation  of  the  individual.  A 
woman  doing:  housework  exercises  most  of  her 
muscles  during  the  day,  and  if  she  makes  pleasure, 

203 


HERSELF 

and  not  drudgery  out  of  her  work,  this  exercise  is 
very  beneficial.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  be  able  to  ac- 
complish so  much,  but  the  housework  is  not  suffi- 
cient exercise.  This  woman  needs  exercise  for  her 
mind  and  for  her  beauty-loving  soul.  In  her  spare 
time  she  should  lie  under  the  trees  and  enjoy  na- 
ture or  a  good  book,  or  she  should  go  to  some 
gathering  where  she  will  meet  those  who  will  re- 
fresh her  intellectually.  Keep  the  mind  open  to 
all  the  impressions  of  nature.  Love  the  open  air. 
Fresh  air  is  not  a  fad,  it  is  a  necessity  if  one  would 
keep  young.  Occasionally  read  a  book  of  travel 
or  a  biography  of  some  well-known  person.  Keep 
mentally  alert.  An  intellectual  back  number  adds 
years  to  her  seeming  age.  Nothing  makes  for 
youth  as  a  young  mind,  save  perhaps  a  young" 
heart. 

If  a  woman  wishes  to  retain  her  attractiveness 
and  not  grow  dull  and  uninteresting,  she  must  be 
interested  in  the  outside  world.  Make  it  a  point 
to  go  somewhere  every  day.  If  you  cannot  do  any- 
thing else,  put  the  baby  in  the  cart  and  walk  a  few 
blocks.  Do  not  say  you  are  too  busy.  It  is  neces- 
sary for  your  health  and  you  will  Imd  a  few  min- 
utes' outing  will  give  you   renewed  energies  and 

204 


A  WOMAN'S  AGE 

help  you  to  see  the  silver  lining.  If  possible  go 
to  social  affairs  where  you  meet  people.  Invite 
others  to  your  home  but  do  not  tire  yourself  enter- 
taining them.  People  who  are  boarding  enjoy  a 
simple  home-cooked  meal.  It  is  the  "  homey  " 
air  they  enjoy  and  not  elaborate  decorations  or 
menu. 

A  woman  In  an  office  needs  different  exercise. 
She  needs  to  do  something  that  will  stretch  and 
strengthen  the  tired  muscles.  She  also  needs 
plenty  of  fresh  air.  A  brisk  walk  Is  one  of  the 
best  exercises  for  her.  Walk  part  of  the  way  to 
the  office,  If  possible,  and  keep  your  eyes  open  for 
interesting  things  you  pass.  Use  your  Imagination 
in  guessing  the  life  story  of  those  you  meet.  For- 
get yourself  by  becoming  interested  In  others,  and 
you  will  be  surprised  at  the  effect  upon  your  out- 
look on  life.  It  Is  not  work  that  makes  the  busi- 
ness girl  grow  old  and  careworn  as  much  as  it  is 
her  inability  to  forget  her  work  during  her  play 
or  rest  time.  A  business  man  takes  an  occasional 
day  off  and  goes  hunting  or  fishing,  but  the  business 
girl  seldom  can  afford  the  little  trips  that  would 
serve  to  break  the  monotony  of  work.  But  every 
day  brings  Its  opportunities  for  little  pleasures  that 

205 


HERSELF 

arc  available.  Remember  It  Is  the  small  things  of 
life  that  make  up  its  enjoyment.  Once  in  a  while 
at  noon  go  to  some  especially  nice  lunch  room 
where  you  will  see  well  dressed  women,  where  the 
service  is  faultless  and  every  mouthful  and  every 
moment  enjoyable.  You  will  come  away  filled 
with  such  a  sense  of  well-being  that  you  will  be 
able  to  accomplish  twice  as  much  in  the  way  of 
work.  Many  business  girls  do  not  entertain  them- 
selves well  enough.  They  become  so  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  economy  that  they  deny  themselves 
the  little  pleasures  that  would  make  life  enjoyable. 
This  reacts  upon  their  work  and  ability.  These 
people  who  continually  stint  themselves  never 
achieve  great  success.  They  repress  themselves  so 
much  that  they  quell  all  their  best  impulses.  They 
never  expand. 

Learn  self-control.  Anger  is  a  rapid  wrinkle 
bringer.  The  energy  that  is  wasted  in  useless 
worry  and  tirade  against  circumstances  might  be 
conserved  and  diverted  into  other  channels  that 
would  bring  you  abundant  reward,  financially  as 
well  as  in  other  ways.  Avoid  worry,  hurry  and 
getting  flustered.  Plan  your  work  in  the  morning, 
then  take  the  little  interruptions  coolly  and  qui- 

206 


A  WOMAN'S  AGE 

ctly.  You  will  not  be  half  so  tired  at  the  end  of 
the  day  as  you  would  be  otherwise.  Be  temperate. 
Moderation  does  not  refer  only  to  the  stomach. 
Overdoing  in  any  way  makes  for  premature  age. 

Do  not  let  yourself  get  sluggish  and  indifferent. 
Here  is  where  the  benefits  of  massage,  physical 
culture  and  a  vital  interest  in  life  come  in.  Youth 
is  happiness!  If  you  would  be  young,  radiate 
happiness.  Talk  happiness  not  ill-health.  One 
certain  symptom  of  advancing  age  is  the  desire  to 
talk  about  ill-health.  Discussing  operations  you 
have  undergone  or  sickness  you  have  experienced 
always  attracts  attention  to  your  age.  Children 
seldom  talk  about  ill-health.  An  illness  once  con- 
quered is  forgotten.  Another  thing,  do  not  whine. 
The  American  women  are  noted  for  their  unpleas- 
ant voices,  which  often  are  too  high  pitched,  show- 
ing lack  of  control.  Cultivate  a  low,  "well-modu- 
lated  voice.  Recently  I  met  a  young  woman  who 
had  a  deformed  body  and  a  plain  face,  but  I 
immediately  was  attracted  to  her  because  she  had 
the  most  beautiful  speaking  voice  it  ever  was  my 
privilege  to  hear. 

As  we  age  in  years  we  are  liable  to  grow  careless 
in  our  dress,  to  select  colors  and  styles  that  are  not 

207 


HERSELF 

very  becoming;  we  do  not  take  as  much  pains  with 
our  hair,  our  nails  or  our  shoes  as  we  should.  Wc 
have  allowed  age  to  manifest  itself  in  the  lack  of 
care  of  the  little  things. 

Finally,  if  your  work  does  not  bring  you  happi- 
ness, you  are  in  the  wrong  place  and  the  sooner 
you  find  the  right  place  the  better  for  you.  It  is 
impossible  to  take  a  race  horse  and  expect  to  make 
him  a  good  plow  horse.  We  only  would  spoil  the 
one  without  succeeding  in  obtaining  the  other. 
There  is  a  right  place  for  everyone  and  each  one  is 
adapted  to  certain  things  and  in  order  to  accom- 
plish the  most  we  must  "  find  ourselves." 


208 


INDEX 

PAGE 

Abortions 89 

Accidental 90 

Criminal    91 

Prevalence 92,  ii2 

Sterility  following 95 

Advertisements,  misleading 65 

Advertising  physicians I73 

A-fter-birth 83 

/^menorrhcea   40 

Anatomy  of  generative  organs 1 1 

Anus 16 

Atrophy  of  generative  organs 30 

Backache,  displacement  causing 36 

Fake  advertisements  concerning 67 

Gonorrhoea  causing 61 

Lumbago,  rheumatism,  strain    67 

Bag  of  waters 86 

Birth  canal >3 

Black  plagues,  see  Gonorrhoea  and  Syphilis 

Causing  tumors 4^ 

209 


INDEX 

PACK 

Bladder,  openings  into 17 

Position  in  relation  to  womb 1 1 

Blindness,  due  to  gonorrhoea 59 

Infection,  prevalence  of  in  new  born 60 

Blue  baby 87 

Blues    195 

Bom  with  caul  or  veil  86 

Boys,  need  of  instruction 178 

Why  boys  go  astray 171 

Breasts,  after  menopause,  in  pregnancy 19 

At  puberty 24 

Cancer,  carcinoma 43 

Cathartics 5 1 

Cavity  of  pelvis 1 1 

Cavity  of  womb,  openings  into 1 1,  I2 

Change  of  life,  see  Menopause 

Child  bearing  period 23 

Childless  homes 103 

Chlorosis 40 

Circumcision  in  girls 41 

Clandestine  engagements 1 57 

Clap,  sec  Gonorrhoea. 

Clitoris,  hooded 1 7 

Causing  nervousness  and  immorality 41 

Coitus 74 

Conception 74 

Prevention  of 109 

Congestion  from  tight  clothing 37 

210 


INDEX 

PAGB 

Constipation 47 

Caused  by  retroversion   34.  49 

Causes 4^ 

Cord 83 

Cramps  during  menopause 30 

Development  of  life 81 

Diseases  of  female  organs 33 

Influence  on  appearance 28 

Venereal  diseases 56 

Displacements,  causes  of   33 

Backward,  constipation  caused  by 34 

Bladder,  pressure  on 35 

Downward,  side   37 

Forward 3^ 

Hemorrhoids  caused  by 34 

Menstruation,   relation  to    34 

Treatment   35 

Divorce  "5 

Black  plagues  as  a  factor 117 

Sterility  as  a  factor 118 

Douche,  for  cleanliness,  at  close  of  period 21 

In  irritation  of  vagina 40 

Drug  habit,  from  patent  medicines 69 

In  constipation 5  * 

Dry  labor 86 

Dysmenorrhcea    39 

Education,  lack  of  for  girls 77 

211 


INDEX 

PAGE 

Egg,  see  Ovum. 

Embryo 82 

Embryology   81 

Epilepsy  due  to  syphilis loi 

Excesses 

Cause  of  premature  old  age ^(> 

Causing  congestion 38 

During  early  married  life 74 

Exercise 

For  business  woman 205 

For  home  woman 203 

External  generative  organs,  description 16 

Care 20 

Fake  advice 65 

Fallopian  tubes,  description,  position   14 

Effect  of  gonorrhoea  on 57 

Removal,  effect  of,  sterility  from  removal  ....  58 

Tumors  of 42 

Father's  duty  to  son 181 

Fear,  needless 106 

Fertilization  of  ovum    74>  81 

Flirtations  and  their  results 157 

Foetal  movements   84 

Foetus 82 

Gonorrhoea 

Effect  on  female  organs 57 

Persistence  of  in  later  years 57 

Prevalence  of 5^ 

212 


INDEX 

PAGE 

Gonorrhoea  —  continued. 

Prevention  ci  in  youth 63 

Symptoms    61 

Green  sickness 4^ 

Happiness  necessary 208 

Headache,  from  constipation 48 

From  displacements 37 

Powders 69 

Heart  valves  of  baby 87 

Hemorrhage  in  cancer 43 

Hemorrhoids 47 

Bleeding,  external,  internal,  pain  from 49 

From  constipation 4° 

Retrod isplacements  causing 34 

Treatment   49 

Herb  remedies  as  drugs 69 

Heredity,  inherited  tendency  to  disease 99 

Tuberculosis,  syphilis   lOO 

Home-making  a  study 7o 

Homes,  childless ^03 

Girls  not  interested  in  parents'  home I35 

Hot  flashes  during  menopause 30 

Hymen ^  ** 

Not  injured  by  douche 40 

Opening  in 4* 

Unruptured  in  pregnancy 154 

Illegitimacy '  5^ 

213 


INDEX 

PAGE 

Immorality,  due  to  low  wages,  effects  of 149 

Among  children,  in  country  districts,  in  school  .  123 

Due  to  hooded  clitoris 41 

Indigestion   52 

Inflammation  causing  dysmenorrhoea   39 

Inherited  syphilis 62 

Intercourse 75 

Insemination  74 

Jealousy   196 

Kiss  conveying  contagion 61 

Knee  chest  position 37 

For  constipation  and  hemorrhoids 49 

Labia  majora  and  minora 17 

Labor,  dry, 86 

Duration  of 87 

Pains,  cause  of 85 

Premature 89 

Lanugo   84 

Law  regarding  prevention  of  pregnancy 109 

Laxatives    5 ' 

Lcucorrha-a   38 

In  young  girls 40 

Life  feeling 84 

Love,  misunderstood   132 

Lumbago,  backache  in 67 

Lungs  of  new-born  child   87 

214 


INDEX 

PACK 

Maidenhead,  see  Hymen. 

Malignant  tumor 43 

Marriage,  education  necessary  for 72 

Fake  marriages  used  to  obtain  white  slaves i68 

False  promises  leading  to  immorality 151 

For  convenience,  natural   116 

Laws  not  adequate 115 

Relation 7^ 

Science  of,  successful  and  otherwise 71 

Social  reasons  for 103 

Massage,  for  constipation 5^ 

Mating  73 

Meatus  urinarius I7 

Medical,  fake  advertisements 67 

Medicine,  doubtful  results  from 68 

Patent 45 

Membrane 86 

Menstruation,  absence  of 40 

Bathing  during 27 

Care  during 26 

Color,  odor 29 

Composition  of  flow 28 

Deficiency  of 4^ 

Description  of 23 

Duration  of,  frequency 23,  28 

Lassitude  during 27 

Pain  during   27,  39 

Phenomena  common  to 27 

Profuse  flow 28 

215 


INDEX 

Menstruation  —  continued. 

Quantity,  time  between  periods 29 

Sign  of  approach  of  period   25 

Source  of  flow 16 

Menopause,  age 29 

Bowels  in 21 

Breasts  after 31 

Cancer  at 43 

Care  during,  symptoms  of  approach    30 

Changes  in  body,  nervous  system 30 

Duration,  diet 31 

End  of  child-bearing  period 23 

Hot  flashes  during,  necessity  for  examination.  .  30 

Relaxation,  rest,  worry  during 31 

Miscarriage 89 

Modesty,  false   1 34 

Motherhood,  accidental,  a  science,  preparation  for  .  .  77 

Fear  regarding 106 

Natural  desire  of  all  women 104 

Mucous  patches  in  syphilis 61 

Nerve  trouble,  due  to  syphilis 62 

Nervousness 

A  lack  of  control I95 

Due  to  lioodcd  clitoris 41 

Overcoming 197 

Relation  to  intercourse 7^ 

Neuralgia,  backache   67 

Causing  dysmenorrhoca 39 

216 


INDEX 

PAGB 

Ovary,  description,  function,  position 14 

Tumor,  see  Tumor. 

Oviduct,  see  Fallopian  tube 14 

Ovum 14 

Relation  to  menstruation   29 

Division  into  portions,  grovi/th 81 

Passage  from  ovary  to  uterus,  impregnation...  81 

Size 82 

Passion  or  sex  sense 73 

Parents'  duty  to  daughters 167 

To  sons '71 

Patent  medicine 45 

Of  doubtful  benefit 68 

Pelvis " 

Deformed  in  abortions 9^ 

Peritoneum i" 

Peritonitis    16 

From  displacement  and  inflammation  of  womb  37 

From  gonorrhoea 58 

From  appendicitis   59 

Perineum   18 

Tearing  during  labor 19.  87 

PhysioIog>'  of  female  organs 1 1 

Piles,  see   Hemorrhoids. 

Placenta 83 

Position  of  foetus  in  utero 85 

Pregnancy,  absence  of  menstruation   40 

Among  unmarried  girls 15^ 

217 


INDEX 

PAGE 

Pregnancy  —  continued. 

Fertilization  before 74 

Prevention  of 109 

Premature  birth,  labor 89 

Prostitution,  result  of I55 

Puberty 23 

Change  in  nervous  system 24 

Hygiene  during,  school  work  during 24 

Premonitory  symptoms,  signs  of  approach   ....  24 

Preparatory  information,  necessity  for 24 

Public  cup 61 

Pus  tubes,  see  Fallopian  tubes. 

Race  improvement 1 1 1 

Race  suicide,  education  in  relation  to 104 

Not  increased  by  knowledge  of  means  of  pre- 
vention    '13 

Rectum,  position  in  relation  to  womb II 

In  retrodisplacement 34 

Regulation  of  number  of  children ill 

Relaxation    I99 

Rest 200 

Rheumatism,  backache   67 

Dysmenorrhoea  due  to 39 

Sac 85 

Sanitary  pads 26 

Self-abuse 137 

Hooded  clitoris  as  a  cause 139 

218 


INDEX 

PACK 

Self-abuse  —  continued. 

Mental   139 

Nervous  system  injured 138 

Treatment 139 

Self-confidence 145 

Self-control 206 

Semen 74 

Sex,  education  needed  regarding 72,  12 1 

Fundamental  end  of,  over-indulgence 74 

Instinct  73 

Instruction  for  children 183 

Organs  formed  fourth  month 83 

Skin  disease  due  to  syphilis lOi 

Sleep,  sleeplessness,  treatment   200 

Spermatozoon  74 

Death  due  to  disease 107 

Union  with  ovum 81 

Size   82 

Sterility 

After  one  birth 108 

Due  to  abortions 95 

Due  to  gonorrhoea   5^ 

Due  to  indiscretions,  in  male   107 

Stomach  trouble  due  to  syphilis 62 

Syphilis 61 

Causing  abortions 90 

Causing  epilepsy,  brain  and  skin  lesions lOi 

Contracted  from  wet  nurse 62 

Conveyed  by  kiss,  by  public  ciip 61 

219 


INDEX 

PACE 

Syphilis  —  continued. 

Inherited 62,  100 

Late  symDtoms 62 

Prevention  in  youth,  treatment 63 

Tears  of  perineum 19 

Necessity  for  repair 30 

Relation  to  cancer 43 

Teas,  laxative 51 

Tomboys    I33 

Toxines  from  constipation   48 

Tubes,  see  Fallopian  tubes. 

Tumor,  abdominal,  caused  by  black  plagues 42 

Absorption  of,   removal    42 

Causing  dysmenorrhoca   39 

Hemorrhoidal 34 

Malignant    43 

Phantom 43 

Symptoms  of,  hemorrhage,  pain  in 42 

Ulcers  in  syphilis 62 

Umbilical  cord 83 

Urethra i? 

Urination,  frequent,  caused  by  displacement 35 

Uterus,  see  Womb. 

Vagina,   description  of    13 

Discharge  from   38 

220 


INDEX 

PAGE 

Vagina  —  continued. 

Infection  from  use  of  public  towels 6o 

Irritation  of 40 

Orifice  of 17 

Vein  of  cord 83 

Vernix  caseosa 85 

Venereal  diseases 56 

Vibrator  for  constipation 51 

Wet  nurse  in  syphilis 62 

Womb,  attachment 13 

Cancer  of 43 

Congestion  from  tight  clothing 37 

Contraction  of  mouth 39 

Inflammation  from  displacements 37 

Position,  size,  structure,  shape 1 1 

Over  work  causing  congestion 38 

Wild  oats,  sown  by  girls 150 

White  slavery 163 

Women  in  business 189 

Worry ,  an  abuse I43 

Your  t,  obtainable 203 


221 


By  E.  B.  Lowry,  M.D. 

HIMSELF 

TALKS  WITH  MEN  CONCERNING 
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